Oppn walks out of Rajya Sabha on climate change

New Delhi, Dec 7: The Government on Monday, Dec 7, said it will not compromise India's interest at the Copenhagen climate change summit, but a dissatisfied Opposition walked out of Rajya Sabha.

Speaking during the zero hour at Rajya Sabha, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, "There is no dilution in our stand...There is simply no compromise on India's national interest."

Ramesh said, "We will under no circumstances accept legally binding cuts. The cuts we have announced in energy intensity are not internationally legally binding it's a domestic plan. Ours is a unilateral offer, there is no reciprocity."

Almost the entire opposition led by BJP staged a walkout stating that it was dissatisfied over the reply by the minister.

Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said that by announcing unilateral emission intensity cut by 20-25 per cent by 2020, India was following a "bad strategy".

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, who would be part of the Parliamentary delegation for the summit, accused the government of coming under the US pressure.

However, Ramesh rejected the charge, saying, "This was not done under any foreign pressure."

OneIndia News