India declared that it was not in a mood to take any legally binding emissions targets. Refusing to yield to pressures from the developed countries to accept binding limits on carbon emissions, India's minister of environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, told visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the country, however, is sanguine about an eventual climate change deal to India's benefit.
Coming down heavily on developed countries for failing to fulfill their commitments on global warming, he said: "We look upon you suspiciously because you have not fulfilled what you had pledged to fulfill. It is a crisis of credibility."
"There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions. And as if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours," Ramesh told the visiting dignitaries including special US envoy for climate change Todd Stern.
He added that "detailed modeling showed unambiguous results that developing country emissions would remain well below the averages of developed countries even with high growth rates."
In his reply, Ramesh said India's stand on per capita emissions is not a debating strategy as it has been incorporated in international agreements.
However, Clinton said she is optimistic about getting a climate change deal that will be agreed upon by India. She reiterated that the US was not trying to "limit India's growth," by calling for emissions reductions.
Terming India's arguments as 'fair', Clinton, however, argued that the per capita emissions argument "loses force" as developing countries are fast becoming
the "biggest emitters" with their carbon emissions level going up dramatically.
Both India and the US are working on agreements aimed at giving US companies rights to sell nuclear reactors to India.
Coming down heavily on developed countries for failing to fulfill their commitments on global warming, he said: "We look upon you suspiciously because you have not fulfilled what you had pledged to fulfill. It is a crisis of credibility."
"There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions. And as if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours," Ramesh told the visiting dignitaries including special US envoy for climate change Todd Stern.
He added that "detailed modeling showed unambiguous results that developing country emissions would remain well below the averages of developed countries even with high growth rates."
In his reply, Ramesh said India's stand on per capita emissions is not a debating strategy as it has been incorporated in international agreements.
However, Clinton said she is optimistic about getting a climate change deal that will be agreed upon by India. She reiterated that the US was not trying to "limit India's growth," by calling for emissions reductions.
Terming India's arguments as 'fair', Clinton, however, argued that the per capita emissions argument "loses force" as developing countries are fast becoming
the "biggest emitters" with their carbon emissions level going up dramatically.
Both India and the US are working on agreements aimed at giving US companies rights to sell nuclear reactors to India.
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