RENEWED FORCE UN, Obama, build pressure on
Copehagen deal
Reiterating
India's position and warding off renewed pressure on the Copenhagen
accord, the Prime Minister said on Friday the deal was a "catalogue of
voluntary commitments and not a negotiated set of legal obligations".
US President Barack Obama has sought India's support in turning the
Copenhagen Accord into a binding treaty. Yvo De Boer, UN's top
climate-change official, has set February 11 deadline for associating
with the accord -- an agreement between 26 countries, including the
Basic countries. The Basic countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and
China) had on January 31 submitted "voluntary domestic mitigation
actions" without referring to the accord, the trigger for Obama and
Boer's letters.
The US wants the
accord to be the basis of a future treaty, but developing nations,
including India and China, are against it. The PM is believed to have
conveyed to them that India and other Basic members viewed the accord
as non-binding.
"The Copenhagen
accord, which we fully support and will take forward, is a catalogue
of voluntary commitments and not a negotiated set of legal
commitments," Singh said at the inauguration of the 10th Sustainable
Development Summit on Friday. The purpose of the accord was to
contribute to the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol and long-term
cooperation, he said. Country heads of Finland, Norway, Bhutan and
Greece, and environment ministers of more than 30 countries are
attending the 3-day meet.
Sharing
disappointment of world leaders such as French President Nicolas
Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the limited success
at Copenhagen, the PM said, "A modest accord that is fully implemented
may be better than an ambitious one that seriously falls short of its
targets." It was a reference to the emission targets set in Kyoto
Protocol, which most of the rich countries have failed to meet. Singh
said Basic countries, together with G-77, will aim at "comprehensive,
balanced and equitable" outcome at Mexico summit in December based on
"common but differentiated responsibility".
