Summit useful in getting India, China to take action: Aus

Natasha Chaku
Melbourne, Dec 24 (PTI) India and China have not only
agreed to act to cut down emissions but are also willing to be
accountable for their action, Australia's environment minister
has said.
"When we went to Copenhagen, there was no agreement
from China or India to do anything on climate change, nor to
be accountable internationally for what they were doing,"
Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has said.
We now have agreement where by China and India are
prepared to take action and are prepared to be accountable for
it, Wong said. "The Indians are articulating a position that's
their national position. We've made our position clear - we
wanted more, we think what we got was a step forward and we
are pleased that China and India have not only agreed to act,
but are willing to be accountable for their action."
India has confirmed that it worked with China and
other emerging nations to ensure that there were no legally
binding targets from the global climate talks, Wong said.
Serious differences had emerged between India and
Australia over the direction of talks at the Copenhagen
climate meet, with Indian Environment minister Jairam Ramesh
dubbing Canberra an "Ayatollah" for its one-track approach.
"Australia is sort of the Ayatollah of the single
track," Ramesh had said. Wong was quoted saying by ABC report
that she would have liked a stronger agreement, but she said
it was still a positive outcome. She said aspects of the
negotiations were frustrating, but has stopped short of
criticising the India. PTI