‘It may not be possible for us to open national plan for international scrutiny’

China and India are very different from each other. Just because China has done something it shouldn’t automatically mean that India too has to do something. China is richer and a more carbon intensive economy. We don’t have to do what they are doing. If China says we will keep carbon intensity to 40 per cent,should India say we will keep ours to 20 per cent? I don’t think so.

One of the criticisms pertaining to the carbon intensity scenario is that if the economy grows steadily so will the carbon emissions.

Yes,that is one of the criticisms and like some other economies we should not pollute first and then say,let us clean up. China has a lot of emissions today. We should make sure that we don’t make the mistakes others have already made and instead,at this point,exercise the right choices.

What are the right choices for India?

The National Solar Mission is the right choice for India. The new solar mission makes place for decentralised,localised solar power and not just big energy plants. It makes provisions for solar energy on every rooftop. We should stick by it and our National Action Plan on Climate Change.

At the same time,it may not be possible for India to open its national plan for international scrutiny. Would a country like the US open its national-level plan for scrutiny? And there is no question of a developing nation like India,which has 400 million people without electricity,to take emission cuts.

As the Chair of the IPCC and also as an Indian,what is your frame of mind before you go to the most crucial climate change meet of the year?

As an Indian,I will confine India’s position to what we have to say in the National Action Plan on Climate Change. But I am not going to Copenhagen as a negotiator for India. My primary responsibility is to give the opening speech as the Chairman of IPCC. I will stress that I believe in equity. We have to be more sensitive to countries where the poorest reside. I will also say that science,especially the science of climate change,does not go against the ethics of equity. We should go by the ethics and we should go by science. More than anything,I want to appear in Copenhagen as a humanitarian.