Govt faces opposition heat over Copenhagen

A united opposition cornered the government on the last day of parliament on Tuesday, accusing it of opening India’s domestic initiatives for green house gas (GHG) emission cuts to scrutiny by international monitoring agencies and letting the industrial world dilute its commitment to reducing GHG emissions.

It also accused the government of committing to a peak year by which India’s emissions have to fall. This, it said, could cripple the nation’s economic growth.

BJP’s Arun Jaitley was particularly scathing. He called the Copenhagen Accord a global disappointment and betrayal of poor nations part of G-77. Jaitley said, “The Copenhagen Accord doesn’t contain a specific statement that the Kyoto Protocol is no longer operational. However, there is, though not expressed, an implied abandonment of the protocol. An implied abandonment is as good as an express abandonment.”
The BJP leader accused the government of “spin-doctoring” and said the accord would expose India’s domestic actions to foreign scrutiny. 

CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, who was part of the parliamentary delegation that went to Copenhagen, Denmark, said, “We have opened windows for a possible jettisoning of the Kyoto Protocol.”

The opposition, especially BJP, attacked the government, saying it had not only buried the Kyoto Protocol, which ensured that developed countries reduced emissions by 25-40% below the 1990 levels, but by signing the Copenhagen Accord, it had agreed that developing countries would get only a “little longer” to fix a peak year.

In defence, minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said the accord was not legally binding and India’s sovereignty had not been compromised.

“BASIC countries [Brazil, South Africa, India and China] are very clear that guidelines for further discussion on the Copenhagen Accord would be under UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and these guidelines would be put together by all countries. We will not let the Kyoto Protocol die. India is not going to perform the last rites,” Ramesh said.

He said there was no threat to national sovereignty and further discussions and movement with the US and other BASIC countries would happen only through the clearly-defined guidelines under UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Action Plan.

Ramesh said climate experts and political observers had also raised concerns over the use of “international consultations and analysis” and whether it meant that India was open to international monitoring. “These words are already being used at WTO and IMF consultations and we should not be sacred. We should not be defensive,” he said.  

“[US] President Obama was pressurising to use words such as review, scrutiny, assessment and verification, but none of the BASIC countries agreed. International consultation and analysis are already in use and we agreed to use [the terms],” the minister said, adding that there would be more pressure on India in the coming days.   

On peak year, Ramesh said, “I have no doubt India has to peak in the 21st century. But the developed countries wanted us to agree to 2025 and that is out for now. The accord clearly states that developing countries will get more time to fix peak years,” he said.

The government regretted the fact the money for mitigation actions - $30 billion till 2012 and $100 billion by 2020 - would come from public and private funds.