India today made a strong pitch for a new sustainable climate deal at the UN Climate Conference in Paris for which the countries need to resolve the critical issue of "differentiated responsibilities".
"We are engaging the world leaders with a positive mindset and with the wish that we arrive at a real sustainable climate deal in Paris which will take into account India's aspirations and concerns as well," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said after engaging his counterparts from several countries who are here to attend a conference on sustainable development.
He said last year's Climate Conference held in Peruvian capital Lima has very clearly mentioned that the new arrangement has to be under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change with the "embedded principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities."
"So, that is the bed rock," the Minister said.
Javadekar said India is positive and it wants to "engage all groups" to arrive at a "consensus" on major issues before the Paris conference to be held December this year.
"We want a real feasible policy framework to emerge from it," he said. The Minister's statement came a day after France, the host nation of the UN climate conference, made an impassioned plea to the world to "agree on major issues" before the meet.
Earlier, participating in the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) organised by the Energy Resources Institute (TERI), top Climate official Susheel Kumar said India was not against a "universal action" to fight climate change.
"Now we are looking at universal action. We are looking at contribution of each country in the form of what is being called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). All the 195 countries have agreed.
"Let's not have action only on the part of some nations although they created problem. Let it be a universal action but it cannot be equal action. So the issue of differentiation is very critical. So that has to be resolved (to ensure that) every country is on board," said Kumar, who is the Additional Secretary of Environment Ministry.
Addressing a separate session of the conference, Environment Secretary Ashok Lavasa expressed confidence that India would declare its climate targets well before the expected time while also calling on all countries to understand the difficulties faced by developing countries.
