BASIC countries support Copenhagen climate accord

New Delhi, Jan 25: The BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) countires have supported the Copenhagen Accord to combat climate change .

Environment ministers of BASIC met on Sunday, Jan 24, to attend a seven-hour meeting on the summit here.

The ministers "expressed their intention to communicate information on their voluntary mitigation actions to the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) by Jan 31, 2010."

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, "We support the Copenhagen Accord. But all of us were unanimously of the view that its value lies not as a stand-alone document but as an input into the two-track negotiation process under UNFCCC."

When asked if the Copenhagen Accord would become a legally binding treaty later, Ramesh replied, "It has no hope of doing so."

According to official sources, India's support to the accord came after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon clarified to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the accord was a political statement of intent that would have no legal force.

Earlier, Prime Minister had sought this clarification in a letter sent to the UN chief on Friday, Jan 22, a move that prompted the UNFCCC to indefinitely defer its Jan 31 deadline for countries to indicate their support to the accord.

OneIndia News