New Delhi: India today said that if in the negotiation process the developing countries are brought into the ambit of making legally binding global agreement for emission cuts, it would ask for a formula for equity in carbon space

Under international agreement the developing countries have “common but differentiated responsibilities” for containing climate change and are exempted from making any legally binding commitments for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cuts. Though many developing countries have announced their national action plans to cut their emission levels, they are being insisted upon by some developed countries to commit to a legally binding agreement.

“If there is a call for such a legally binding agreement, we will ask for a formula for equity in the carbon space. We will insist upon per capita emission of countries, equity in fund flows and would also ask for considering per capita income of countries. The future negotiations should take into the development aspect of developing countries alongwith measures to contain climate change,” the Indian minister of state for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh said at the sidelines of the 10th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS).

In preparation for scheduled crucial climate negotiation at Cancun in Mexico, the world leaders have decided to meet in Bonn in Germany in May, this year for preparatory talks. A series of preparatory talks are expected before the Cancun Summit.

Ramesh said that India would study the reports of Jeffery A Frankel Of Haevard Kenndy School, Dr Michael Spence and that of the Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and accordingly develop a suitable strategy.

The Indian Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Shyam Saran said that the broad political consensus of world leaders reflected in the Copenhagen Accord should form the basis for future negotiations. He said that the Copenhagen Summit was not a total failure as consensus was reached to form an ad hoc group to take forward the Bali Action Plan and to start second track negotiation for extension of the Kyoto Protocol.

He, however, said that the Copenhagen Summit did not yield the desired result as the link between the “green room” and the plenary was lacking and the developed nations were hesitating to make commitments as they were in the midst of global financial crisis.

Earlier, the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh inaugurating the  10th DSDS said that moving forward, we need to reflect on the lessons of what happened at Copenhagen.

“A modest accord that is fully implemented may be better than an ambitious one that falls seriously short of its targets. This is the lesson that was learnt with regard to the Kyoto Protocol.... We will therefore participate in the negotiations in a spirit of flexibility, acknowledging our responsibilities as citizens of the globe”, he said.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should be the centerpiece of global cooperation on climate issues. The purpose of the Copenhagen Accord is to contribute to the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol and on Long Term Cooperation.  “It is not a substitute but a complement to these core international agreements. There is much in the Copenhagen Accord that can bring consensus on the two-track negotiating process,” Singh said

According to the Indian Prime Minister a successful international agreement will require a consensus in two crucial areas. The first is on the science of climate change. The second is the ethical framework for giving expression to the central UNFCCC principle of “common but differentiated responsibility”.

Lauding the IPCC chairm, Dr RK Pachauri, the India Prime Minister said “some aspects of the science that is reflected in the work of the IPCC have faced criticism. But this debate does not challenge the core projections of the IPCC about the impact of greenhouse gas accumulations on temperature, rainfall and sea level rise.  Let me here assert that India has full confidence in the IPCC process and its leadership and will support it in every way that it can.”

However, even in the absence of unanimity of scientific opinion, many of the actions related to mitigation and adaptation are those we should be taking anyway because of their collateral benefits, he said.  

“The lack of global consensus on burden sharing is an even greater barrier to securing an agreement. Industrialised countries in our view need to recognise more clearly their historical role in the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They should respond with bolder initiatives to contain their future emissions. I would also urge greater financial and technical assistance to developing countries both for adaptation measures to cope with the consequences of these emissions; and for mitigation to reduce their contribution to future emissions,“ he said.

India will support all measures to assist them, both bilaterally as well as in the context of a global climate change regime, he added and apart from dwelling the country national action plan he announced that a National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency would soon be launched.