NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government is serious about international negotiations on climate change and is considering increasing and deepening its engagement in the process. The environment ministry, which is the nodal body for the negotiations, has suggested increasing the strength of the Indian delegation, by almost 100 per cent, to the United Nations' climate change negotiations at Lima in December.
At the Warsaw round of negotiations, according to the UNFCCC's list of participants, the Indian delegation comprised 36 members, which included environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan and her personal staff, and members of the Embassy of India in Poland. Members of the delegation involved in the negotiations were no more than 15, including the minister. "The negotiators get over stretched, and often sessions dealing with issues, which do not have immediate relevance are left unattended, or the person who sits in on the meeting has little idea about the subject and is reduced to a note-taker," a member of the Indian delegation said. Sources indicated that for the Lima round, the ministry has suggested a delegation comprising 36 members, including the environment minister.
The ministry is also considering including experts and academics with domain knowledge and have been tracking the negotiations.
"The final decision will be that of the PMO but we have suggested an expansion of the team," a senior official said. The United States delegation to the Warsaw meet comprised nearly 50 members, while China's team, which also included academics and researchers, numbered around 115. BASIC partner South Africa
