Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh refused to comment on reports that Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on climate change, quit following differences with him.
“I have no comments to make,” Mr. Ramesh said.
The announcement about Mr. Saran’s departure from the PMO was made on Friday amid reports that his serious differences with Mr. Ramesh on the approach to climate change negotiations was a key factor behind the decision.
64-year-old Saran had declined to dwell into the reasons for his decision.
Former diplomat Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, a key negotiator in Saran’s team, felt that his departure was unfortunate.
“Mr. Saran did an excellent job as chief negotiator and articulated India’s position very clearly in the climate talks,” he said.
Mr. Saran, Mr. Dasgupta and another members of the negotiating team had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year and offered to quit after Ramesh had reportedly suggested that India junk the Kyoto Protocol and take on greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments.
Mr. Saran was said to have been opposed to the minister’s move for a voluntary declaration on reducing the intensity of emissions ahead of the climate summit in Copenhagen in December last year.
Mr. Ramesh had announced in Parliament, a 25 per cent reduction in the intensity of emissions before going to Copenhagen.
Mr. Saran is said to have felt that it amounted to India diluting its position but Mr. Ramesh opined that it would help the country negotiate at the climate talks from a position of strength.
Mr. Saran, a 1970 batch IFS officer, was the foreign secretary from July 2004 to September 2006.
He was first appointed as special envoy on the Indo-US nuclear deal during the days of tough negotiations over it and was later given charge of the complex climate change talks.
