On Copenhagen,India flexible but wont bend

Up against sustained pressure from developed countries,including the US,to settle for a political declaration at Copenhagen on climate change...

Up against sustained pressure from developed countries,including the US,to settle for a political declaration at Copenhagen on climate change,India has made it clear that it will not pre-empt the negotiations and will continue to strive for a legally binding outcome based on the UN Framework for Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan.

This stands in contrast to the more accommodating gestures from China which announced yesterday that it planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon intensity levels by 2020.

India is not keen to reveal its hand before the negotiations start at Copenhagen pointing out that it is only abiding by the decision taken at the recently concluded Barcelona preparatory meeting.

We do not want to pre-empt the negotiations at Copenhagen. After all,we have time until the high-level meeting which does not begin till December 17. Let me remind you that we agreed in Barcelona to continue negotiations at Copenhagen, said PMs Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran when asked about reasons for India holding back from a consensus on a political declaration.

In fact,sources said,New Delhi is not very keen yet on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh traveling to Copenhagen for the high-level meet. While this is still an issue under consideration,the pressure is building on India after US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao decided to participate at the Copenhagen deliberations.

Even at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet here,French President Nicolas Sarkozy is making a special appearance as an invitee and has specifically sought a meeting with Singh and is expected to discuss support for a political declaration at Copenhagen.

Given the 53-strong membership of the Commonwealth,Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen is also going to be here to discuss the Copenhagen outcome. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is the other senior leader marking his presence here.

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We believe that the issue will be discussed and a political message will be sent from the CHOGM but we dont see this as a forum for negotiations before the Copenhagen meet, said Saran.

India is cautious not to project itself as an impediment to a political declaration. According to Saran,there are several smaller countries like the small island developing nations which want more concrete and legally-binding results at Copenhagen because the phenomenon has an existential impact on them.

We cannot just abandon the concerns of other countries. There has to be a consensus among all these countries. It cannot be that a few countries decide on what the outcome will be. This has to be discussed with others, he added.

In case there is a consensus on a political declaration,Saran said,India will not stand in the way but would insist that the future discussions must be based on the existing UNFCC and in line with the Bali roadmap which aims at a comprehensive outcome. This includes legally binding emission cuts by developed countries and ambitious commitments to transferring technology and providing finance. There can be no new treaty on Climate Change other than the UNFCC and there should be no dilution of the Bali mandate.