8 May 2009 | Luca Del Buono

 

India's special envoy on climate change, Shyam Saran fears that diplomats involved in the negotiations for a global climate deal for the COP-15 meeting in December this year.

"It would be wrong to say that we did not make any progress. But we achieved much less than what we should have achieved by this time if we wanted to have an ambitious package in Copenhagen," said Saran.

According to the Indian envoy, there is still too much of a 'wait and see' attitude towards the US and the legislation being pursued in the US Congress. The issue of comparability of efforts among industrialised countries is an important consideration, said Saran.

As for developing countries, they "need to have a clear indication of what developed countries intend to do in terms of emissions reductions," said the Indian official, rebuffing the argument that emerging economies should also abide by legally-binding emissions targets.

Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommended sticking to a 25 to 40% target for emissions reductions by 2020, "we suggest keeping the target at 40% rather than at the low end of the spectrum. That would be ambitious," Saran said, urging developed countries to define clear and bold targets.

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Source: EurActiv

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