Indian government under fire for Copenhagen accord

Dec 22, 2009, 11:48 GMT

New Delhi - Opposition parties in India Tuesday slammed the government over the Copenhagen climate accord, saying the document betrayed the developing world and did not protect India's national interests.

India's Federal Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, a key interlocutor at the talks, however, hailed the lack of targets and legally binding measures in the agreement.

In a speech in the Upper House of India's Parliament, Arun Jaitley, a leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party lashed out at the government's role in the negotiations, which he said allowed rich nations avoid commitments they had made under the Kyoto Protocol.

Jaitley said the government had been 'outwitted' in the drafting of the document which was principally an agreement between the US and the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) group rather than an accord among the 192 countries attending the summit.

'It [the accord' appears to be a complete betrayal of poor and weaker nations, the developing nations,' Jaitley said.

'After all, negotiation is a process by which you create value for your country,' he said.

He said the government had interpreted the accord wrongly and added that the accord permits international scrutiny of India's actions to deal with global warming.

Communist leader Sitaram Yechury termed the accord as a 'compromise document.'

'We have opened up windows for the possible jettisoning of the Kyoto Protocol,' he added.

Defending the accord, Ramesh said it contained provisions to ensure that India's national interests were protected and rebutted arguments that it sounded the death knell of the Kyoto Protocol.

'We have been able to incorporate a specific provision that these clearly defined guidelines will ensure that the national sovereignty is respected,' Ramesh pointed out.

'This is not an empty sentiment, these are actual words written in the accord,' he said.

The accord agreed upon Saturday in Copenhagen was criticized by critics and climate change campaigners.

It backed the scientists' call to limit global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius against pre-industrial levels but it contains no improved targets on greenhouse gas emissions and does not commit anyone to legally binding cuts.

Jairam also responded to the reported comments by a senior adviser to US President Barack Obama, David Axelrod, that the accord allows the US to review and challenge India and China on voluntary action.

'Now, China and India have set goals. We are going to be able to review what they're doing. We are going to be able to challenge them if they do not meet those goals,' Axelrod was quoted as saying by the NDTV network.

'I go by what President Obama has said and nowhere has President Obama said this accord is meant to control or strangulate China or India,' Ramesh said.