"We will be negotiating to make sure that the Rio principles are reaffirmed and all sustainable development has to be viewed with the approach of equity and common but differentiated responsibility so that developing countries can have their share of development," Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters here.
The Union Cabinet today gave its "full mandate" to the negotiating team led by Natarajan to put forth India's arguments on sustainable development at the Rio Summit.
"The cabinet has given a full mandate to all our negotiating strategy at Rio summit. It is basically reaffirmation of first Rio summit principles that there should be sustainable development," Natarajan said.
The Summit, to be held from June 20-22, has been established with an aim of providing the time and space for global leaders to come together and define a sustainable development pathway that leads to a future in which the whole global population can enjoy a decent standard of living whilst preserving the ecosystems and natural resources.
"Sustainable development is based on three pillars - economy, social and environment. And the entire concept of sustainable development has to be approached in the light of equity and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR)," Natarajan said.
The principle of CBDR -- one of the cornerstones of sustainable development -- has emerged as a principle of International Environmental Law and has been explicitly formulated in the context of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
