Ramesh "nuancing"; Opposition fuming

Cancun, Dec 10: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has come out clarifying his stand on his highly debated climate change proposal.

He said that India has not agreed still on the legally binding emission cuts. He was speaking in the aftermath after a huge debate triggered by Ramesh's stand at the Cancun Climate Change Summit 2010. While G-77 countries wanted legally-binding emission cuts on developing countries, India and China was against the proposal and was asking for more voluntary cuts without any legal angle.

Facing flak for playing to the tunes of the US, Ramesh said, India is not ready to get into an agreement "at this stage". He also said that the occasion has opened up "dialogue" regarding the various views on the topic among fellow countries. "There is no shift in the position, only nuancing," he said on the shift in argument.

"Negotiations is all about flexibility, negotiations is all about seeing what is happening and responding creatively. I think frankly, I have not changed the goal post, I have nuanced our position. Our positions remains let me say we will not accept a legally binding agreement at this stage," he told reporters.

The Opposition went ballistic in their comments against Jairam Ramesh and openly criticised his stand, terming it a "sell-out".

OneIndia News