Decision taken following Ramesh’s assurances on key issues
Two key negotiators for India at the Copenhagen climate summit have agreed to rejoin the delegation, saying Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had cleared up the “confusion” over the country's negotiating position.
Former IFS officer Chandrashekhar Dasgupta and ex-Environment Secretary Pradipto Ghosh confirmed that they now plan to assist the Indian delegation at Copenhagen on the basis of certain “assurances” Ramesh offered.
They said they had delayed their departure because of reservations over issues such as the country’s basic position on per capita emission principles, transfer of technology, verification and domestically financed programmes.
“I delayed my departure for Copenhagen in order to consult with the environment minister on some issues arising in some media reports, which seem to water down Prime Minister’s per capita approach, his position on technology transfer and International Property Rights,” Dasgupta said. Although he claimed that he did not have any problem with the emission intensity forecast — which involved a voluntary cut of 20 to 25 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels — Dasgupta added, “my main concern is that we have been offering unilateral concessions, without obtaining any reciprocity.”
The negotiator also wanted clarifications on the government’s stand on international verification or review of the country's domestically funded mitigation actions (recently reiterated in Parliament as a non-negotiable element that cannot be “modulated”, except under two specific conditions).
The last is important because, unlike many other international agreements, the climate change convention does not require reviews or any other type of consultations for domestic actions of developing countries, he said.
The negotiators were also concerned that the last-minute announcement of India having “flexibility” meant changing its stand on the equitable per capita emissions. Ghosh, who will also attend the summit, too said “we had some doubts, on which the air has been cleared by Ramesh. “We are now on the same page. We will join the delegation soon.” Other negotiators have already left for Copenhagen last evening to participate in the talks to chalk out a new climate treaty that would replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The remaining negotiating team comprises Shyam Saran, Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Ajai Mathur, head of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Vijai Sharma, environment secretary.
Regarding the two negotiators who were apprehensive of joining the Indian delegation, Ramesh said “there were no differences and the two negotiators were very much part of the Indian climate team for Copenhagen. They will be leaving either tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.”
“Their departure was delayed by two days because of the detailed consultations we were having on our negotiating position,” he added. The minister has been under attack from various quarters, including political parties and environmentalists, for his announcement to cut the emissions intensity by 20-25 per cent by 2020.
