Rejecting attempts to project India’s stance on climate change as a barrier to reaching a global agreement at Copenhagen, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has said India has always taken a principled position.
Setting forth India’s position in a letter to Members of Parliament, Mr. Ramesh has said any commitments the country makes must be of “our accord, on our terms and in line with our development priorities …The only entity to which we will be accountable for any form of commitment will be our Parliament,” he said.
“I think we are making rapid progress in altering the perception of India in international fora and the world at large without compromising our position. We need to take actions on climate change because it affects our people’s lives, and not because of any international pressure,” he said.
Pointing out that India had sent a clear message that it had not created the problem of global warming but was determined to be part of the solution at Copenhagen and beyond, Mr. Ramesh said India would engage constructively and proactively in the negotiations based on “equity” and in accordance with “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities.”
“We should clinch agreements on issues where there is already a substantial consensus — like forestry, adaptation finance, technology cooperation for mitigation in energy and clean development mechanism,” he said, pointing to the steps the government has taken.
While India believes that the per capita approach is the only measure that ensures equity, it is also aware of the seriousness of the threat climate change poses. India is heavily influenced by climate change, and so it is contemplating legislation to meet specific performance targets in sectors such as power, transport, industry, agriculture, building and forestry.
“I have gone out of my way to stress that India’s vibrant civil society, free press and parliamentary system ensure robust monitoring, reporting and verification of all of India’s action,” he said.
