India would not compromise on 'teen-murti': Jairam Ramesh

Copenhagen, Dec 13(ANI): Emphatically reiterating India's firm position on all issues related to climate change, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Sunday that there was no question of New Delhi changing its goal post.

Addressing the media in Copenhagen, Ramesh said: "India would not compromise on 'teen-murti' (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol and Bali Action Plan).

Ramesh also said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen on December 17, would not be visiting to negotiate the text.

"I have clearly and categorically stated on behalf of the Government of India that our Prime Minister is not coming here to negotiate the text," Ramesh said.

Ramesh further said the Prime Minister would be coming to share India's views.

Earlier, he had said that India would legally reject binding targets of any kind and would demand greater cuts from the West. He had also assured the Parliament during a debate that this was a unilateral decision and in India's interest.

India would not accept any draft that suggested, "India's emissions should be so much by whatever year," he had said.

Prime Minister Dr. Singh will attend the Copenhagen summit on climate change after India announced that it would consider an emission cut of 20 to 25 percent by 2020, but would not be coerced into accepting unilateral cuts decided by developed countries.

Intense negotiations in commitments on emission cuts will be discussed in the two-week long summit.

The United Nations is aiming for a comprehensive political agreement at climate talks in the Danish capital.

The troubled talks have run out of time to settle a legally binding deal after rancorous arguments between rich and poor nations about who should cut emissions, by how much and who should pay.

New Delhi has so far refused to accept international legally binding emission reduction targets, though it is prepared to discuss and make public periodically the status of its domestic climate action. (ANI)