India says it cannot accept a cap on development by Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 29 (PTI) India Wednesday said it will
not accept any cap on its development in the name of climate
change, asserting that any negotiation on climate change
should take into account the overriding developmental
objectives of the developing countries.

Briefing reporters at the conclusion of a two-day
meeting of 17 major economies on climate change and energy,
Indian Prime Minister's Special Envoy Shyam Saran said there
has to be a balance between historical responsibility and
current emissions.

"Focus only on current emissions is not going to give
you an equitable result," he said, adding developed countries
simply can't absolve of their historic responsibilities and
talk about current emissions only.

"We have been saying that the developed countries,
sooner rather than later should indicate what the emissions
targets they are willing to take are? Whatever they had agreed
to take on in the Kyoto protocol 1997, only few countries are
going to be able to meet those targets," he said.

"We (developing countries) say, 1990 should be the
base year, because that is what is being recognized by the
UNFCC," he said.

Referring to the often made remarks by the developed
countries urging the world for an extraordinary response to
the increasing danger of climate change, Saran said:
"Extraordinary response would mean that you as developed
countries must take much more significant reduction target
than you have been willing to do in the past."

Saran said there are countries, which focus mainly on
current emissions and are not giving the kind of attention
that they should, to this aspect of historical responsibility.

In the negotiations that are taking place at the
multilateral forum, he said India's approach is based on the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and Bali
Action Plan, both of which are a consensus document.

"We are saying that its provisions should be the basis
for what we are trying to achieve at Copenhagen. The
differences are arising because there are tendencies to move
away from these principles and provisions and that is what
causes difficulties," he argued.

Stressing that historical responsibilities have to be
recognised in any negotiations, Saran said: "If you are going
to focus your attention only on current emissions then you get
a different result, but if you take into account not only
current emissions but also historical emissions then the
picture becomes very different.

"So the approach is yes current emissions have to be
taken into account, but an equitable outcome has to take into
account the responsibility of the developed industrialized
world for the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere." PTI
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