India should not yield to pressure at Copenhagen summit: CPI(M)

The CPI(M) today said India should not yield to any pressure on reduction in emission intensity when prime minister Manmohan Singh travels to Copenhagen to attend the climate change summit.

"If the prime minister's decision to go to Copenhagen is in response to the White House statement, then it does not augur well for the country," party leader Sitaram Yechury said here.

Yechury, who will be part of the Indian parliamentary delegation to the conference, referred to the White House statement which claimed that India and China had, for the first time, set targets to reduce their carbon footprint after meetings between their top leaders and the US president.

"This implies pressure and dilution of India's stand. We hope that the government will adhere to the commitments made to Parliament by the prime minister. No dilution of these commitments will be acceptable to us," Yechury said.

The White House statement said, "Following bilateral meetings with the president, and since the US announced an emissions reduction target that reflects the progress being made in Congress towards comprehensive energy legislation, China and India have, for the first time, set targets to reduce their carbon intensity."

In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo demanded that the government should "categorically clarify what India's negotiating position will be" before the Indian delegation leaves for Copenhagen.

The party accused environment minister Jairam Ramesh of "deviating from India's position and even from the position that the prime minister has taken" on climate change.

Referring to the Ramesh's reply to a debate in Lok Sabha, it said Ramesh was "repeatedly introducing modifications and caveats to India's fundamental negotiating positions on climate change", especially on issues relating to financial and technology transfers from the rich countries.

Maintaining that the minister focussed more on technology development and not on transfer, and had downplayed the issue of Intellectual Property Rights, the CPI(M) said this was "unacceptable" as even the official documents spoke of technology transfer, along with development, application and diffusion.

On all these counts, "the minister is going against the officially stated negotiating positions of the government. This is clear from the documents regarding India's position that are available on the ministry's website itself".