Ramesh pressurised to submit to legal proposal

Cancun, Dec 9: Jairam Ramesh, Environment Minister has irked this time not the environment supporters but the Cabinet itself at the recent Cancun Climate Change Summit 2010.

After his proposal for Monitoring Verification and Regime (MRV) was rejected from most countries including China, Ramesh passionately is pushing a few boundaries for improving environmental awareness. This time he has broken official protocol by agreeing to a legally binding agreement that is non-negotiable. This is in stark contrast of the strict instructions by the Cabinet.

Ramesh proposed legally binding emission cuts from all countries including developing countries. India had support from the BASIC group (India, China, South Africa and Brazil) in this regard. Till now, India and China were gunning for having voluntary cuts for developing countries. With the changed scenario, the BASIC group seem to be divided and the G-77 countries want legally binding emission cuts for all developing countries.

Ramesh in his speech at the summit said that India was under pressure to sign a proposal to sign the legally binding agreement. Brazil and South Africa suports the proposal of having a legal binding while China and India do not want a legal restriction.

OneIndia News.