Won’t settle for mere climate declaration,says India

With the developed world almost dropping the idea of finalising a comprehensive climate agreement at Copenhagen—and working actively on a mere political resolution instead—India on Friday said it would not agree to a “weak and merely declaratory outcome” in December.

As the climate change negotiations remained deadlocked at the end of consultations in Barcelona,New Delhi rejected attempts by developed countries to lower the expectations from the December meeting and said it would continue to strive for a balanced agreement in accordance with the Bali Action Plan. “We are not prepared to give up too early and already settle for a weak and merely declaratory outcome,” said Shyam Saran,the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change,at the end of four-day deliberations in Barcelona.

“We have conveyed that we are not prepared to give up our efforts to achieve a legally binding agreement at Copenhagen which should represent enhanced and not diminished implementation of the UNFCCC,” he said.