EU blames India for climate deal delay, minister rebuts
Saturday December 10, 2011 08:34:19 AM,
Richa Sharma, IANS
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Durban: The European Union (EU) Friday blamed India
for blocking a new legally binding agreement, saying its
"relatively tough stand" was hampering countries from arriving at
a conclusion in Durban. India rejected the allegation and said it
was open for discussions.
On the final day of deliberations, the president of the climate
conference hoped for a positive outcome.
Meanwhile, within an hour of the EU tirade, the African Group came
out in support of India.
As the annual summit of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) started its scheduled final day in this South
African port city, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said
there were two sticking points with India - future of the legal
form of a global agreement to combat climate change and the
timeframe by which rich and poor countries should cut their
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The EU has proposed a "roadmap" for countries to agree to a single
legally binding framework by 2015.
Hedegaard said of the BASIC quartet (Brazil, South Africa, India
and China), Brazil and South Africa have agreed to the EU's
proposal while China has shown some flexibility but India is
maintaining a "relatively tough stand".
"As of today, agreement is within reach on the second commitment
period of Kyoto Protocol -- only existing legal regime -- roadmap
for negotiations and the future regime that would be global and
legally binding," she said.
Hedegaard said the EU's roadmap has been accepted by the majority
of countries - small island states, least developed countries, the
African Group. "But the success and failure of Durban depends on
some countries that are not committed to the roadmap. So we have
to get them on board."
Asked by IANS to specify the sticking points with India, Hedegaard
said: "Legal form of the future agreement. India wants to continue
two tracks - legal and voluntary - while more and more countries
have realised that we should not for all eternity keep two
tracks."
For many years, India has been saying rich countries must make
legally binding commitments to cut their emissions because most of
the extra GHG present in the atmosphere today are due to them.
India has maintained that emission controls by developing
countries should be voluntary.
The EU wants negotiations to start now and end by 2015, with the
new treaty coming into force in 2020. India wants to start
negotiations after the next report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change is reviewed in 2015.
Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan rejected the EU
allegation, saying she is here with an open mind as long as issues
raised by the country are addressed.
"I had a meeting with the BASIC this morning and our stand has
been the same. I have come here with an open mind, but we want to
know the content of the legally binding deal. We want to know if
they are going to give us a ratifiable Kyoto in return," she told
IANS.
She said India's demands have been "extremely reasonable" and "we
want to know how common but differentiated responsibility, equity,
intellectual property rights and trade measures will figure in the
treaty."
The African Group came out in India's support shortly after the EU
tirade. Its chief negotiator, Nsala Tosi Bibanda Mpanu Mpanu of
the Democratic Republic of Congo, said: "It may be easy for some
countries to commit to a legally binding treaty, it may be
difficult for some others. Each country has its own situation."
The US has maintained that it will not enter a legally binding
treaty.
Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, president of the 17th Conference of
Parties (COP), said all the countries are working together to
reach a common goal. "We have been engaged and were working till
4:15 a.m. Friday so that when final text is out, nobody comes and
say that they don't know about it," she said.
(Richa Sharma can be contacted at richa.s@ians.in)
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