New Delhi, Dec.3 (ANI): Rejecting speculations that developing countries like India could play spoil sport and would be a "deal breaker" at next week's Copenhagen Climate summit,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh' special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran said that India would be a deal maker instead.
Saran's comments came ahead of a meeting where representatives of 191 countries will converge in the Danish capital to chalk out a strategy to counter climate change and global warming, both in the short and long term.
"Why there is a feeling that India will be a deal breaker, India works together and has a history of working together with a large number of countries," Saran told ANI on Thursday in an exclusive interview.
Saran further said: "Our special talent is in terms of building consensus, in trying to bridge gaps. And, that is the role India will be playing."
India has already signed an agreement with China to jointly tackle the issue and is also coordinating its position with South Africa and Brazil and is working closely with G-77 on the issue, he added.
The final outcome of the summit should not be against the interest of the developing countries, Saran said.
Experts believe that the U. S. President Barack Obama's announcement that his country would cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 17 per cent by 2020, compared to 2005, and China's announcement that it would reduce the GHG-intensity of its economy by 40-45 per cent by 2020, compared to 2005, would put more pressure on India to come up with similar quantitative commitments.
India, which is the fifth largest carbon emitter of the world with 4 percent of total emissions, has already said a big "No" to any plans of legally binding emission cut. However, it is open to international scrutiny of those climate change initiatives which are financed and technologically supported by the International community or Climate Change Regime.
According to Saran, India is ready to reflect to the international community its voluntary mitigation efforts in the form of National Communication to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change.
"But this is different from making these actions into legal commitments," Saran added.
India has taken slew of mitigation actions like launching a National Action Plan, Solar energy plan, Energy conservation act and initiatives like growing six million hectares of forest.
Saran argued that India is not culpable with per capita emission of 1.1 tonnes compared to 20 tonnes for US and 10 tonnes for many European countries.
Rejecting that India is under any pressure before the Copenhagen summit, Sran revealed that India has a good story to tell.
"We are going to Cophenegan with a certain degree of confidence and justification in resisting the demand for any kind of emission reduction target by India, it is not required under UNFCC," Saran stated. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)
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