India on Thursday made it clear it would not convert its domestic carbon reduction pledges into a
globally binding pact and said its targets were not up for review as the U.S. and China exchanged barbs at the key climate talks here over the blame for global warming and funds to mitigate the problem.
"We already have an agreement... we are quite prepared through our national communications to report what we are doing, but that is for the purpose of information only," Chandrashekar Dasgupta, senior Indian negotiator at the climate change meet here, told PTI .
"It is not subject to review, to verification, to re-negotiation, to dialogue or any such thing. It is a
nationally determined voluntary target ... nothing less, nothing more," said Mr. Dasgupta, who has also served as Indian ambassador to China and European Union.
India has set a goal of 20 to 25 per cent reduction in carbon intensity by 2020, compared to the 2005 levels.
Mr. Dasgupta's remarks came a day after U.S. special envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, said here that emerging countries like India, China and South Africa would not be given a "pass" on carbon emissions and that they needed to wrap up their "significant" proposals into an international agreement.
As environment ministers and negotiators from 192 countries discussed tackling climate change at their marathon meeting here, the U.S. and China, the world's two largest carbon emitters, traded heated exchanges.