PM’s four will rough it out for India

The 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen will be a contest of skills, both at driving hard bargains and managing tricky negotiations. As the Indian 44-member contingent prepares to rough it out in the distant terrain, a lot will depend on the four key negotiators appointed by prime minister Manmohan Singh. Their skills will define the contours of the country’s future climate change efforts.

Shyam Saran: The special envoy is an old hand at international negotiations. The 1970 batch retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer is the prime minister’s advisor on nuclear issues. He played a key role in negotiating the India-US nuclear deal. During his tenure as the foreign secretary, he played an important role in the boundary dispute with China. Saran is an expert on China and Japan.

Prodipto Ghosh: He was one of the key figures of the group which formulated the ‘Berlin Mandate’ of 1995 at the first meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Berlin. The ad hoc group on Berlin Mandate (AGBM) met three times between 1995 and 1997 and analysed and assessed possible policies and measures to strengthen commitments. He helped prepare India’s National Climate Change Action Plan which is going to be the main negotiating line of the government at Copenhagen.

Chandrashekhar Dasgupta: The former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer had led the Indian delegation to Rio Summit on Environment and Development in 1992 and also at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He was closely associated with India’s National Climate Change Action Plan.

He was the vice-chairman of both the UN preparatory committee for the Rio Summit as well as the International Negotiating Committee for the Framework Convention. He is part of the PM’s Council on Climate Change, member of the UN Committee on economic, social and cultural rights and co-chair of the India-EU Round Table. The 1962 batch officer recently served as chairperson of the China Task Force.

Ajay Mathur: The low-key director general of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is the brain behind the government’s National Climate Change Action Plan and the roadmap for its execution. He was involved in preparation of the energy conservation code for all government buildings. He also had a role in preparing the energy conservation guidelines for large industries, especially cement, steel, textile, aluminium and railways. He is also working in the wind energy production sector for India.

The Indian team also has first-timers who have been para-dropped straight into the Copenhagen meet. They are KJ Ramesh and Nilay Khare, both scientists at the ministry of earth sciences; M Srivastava, director ministry of power; Prashant Goyal, director ministry of commerce; and D Mehrotra, deputy chief surveyor of directorate general of shipping.