Nitin Sethi
The Times of India
12/11/2010
CANCUN: What will be the outcome of Cancun? The details are still being thrashed out but one thing is certain — when the two-week conference ends, India will have further diluted its stance on climate change negotiations.
The government might justify it as a part of its larger geopolitical need or a pragmatic review of its position or the need to not stand alone, but India is bound to come out by taking another step towards diluting the existing principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan that it fought hard for two decades.
As a developing country negotiator said, “In Bali, India accepted it would carry out mitigation actions. In Copenhagen, it accepted international scrutiny and in Cancun, we have accepted the possibility of legally binding targets. One has to see if by Durban next year, India also accepts absolute emission cuts.”
The questions that one would need to ask when the post-summit assessment begins are two-fold. How will these changes in the international climate change stance impact India’s economic growth and what did India gain in return for these regressions?
The article continues at The Times of India
