The flexibility shown by India in recent weeks on its stand on climate change is hardly producing the desired response from the developed world if the reactions from the European Union are anything to go by.

While it welcomed the recent pronouncements by India — including the offers to quantify its mitigation efforts and increase the frequency of reporting its actions to the UNFCCC — the European Union was of the opinion that these were clearly not enough. It wanted India to not just ‘control’ the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions — something that New Delhi is already willing to do — but also take internationally legally binding commitments to do so.

In an unusual interaction with journalists, ambassadors and representatives from 17 EU countries expressed the view that the lower emission growth trajectories that emerging economies like India were promising to take, must be made legally binding on them, a proposal that India has a strong objection to.

The EU was of the opinion that even domestic action by India taken without any financial aid from the international community be made subject to international verification. French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont even suggested these be made necessary conditions for transfer of technology from developed countries to developing ones. “Its all part of the package,” Bonnafont said.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh promptly dismissed the suggestion, saying India would not be bound by such conditions.