India hints at political statement on climate change at Copenhagen

Ruling out any compromise in its stand, environment minister Jairam Ramesh today pitched for a strong political statement at the end of the climate change talks and asserted that a deal must be reached by next year.

Speaking to reporters here, he made it clear that the text of the political statement would be ready before prime minister Manmohan Singh and other world leaders reach Copenhagen for the final leg of the 12-day talks.

"I have clearly and categorically stated on behalf of the government of India that our Prime Minister is not coming here to negotiate the text," he said.

"India would not compromise on 'teen-murti' (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol and Bali Action Plan)," Ramesh said ahead of tomorrow's high-level segment which would see participation of environment ministers from across the globe.

"We must get an agreement in 2010," he said, adding that the text of the political statement should be ready by December 15.

Informal talks among the environment ministers on the draft deal, criticised by rich nations and emerging economies, continued over the weekend with the hope that they could agree on a text that could be put before the heads of state and government assembling for the plenary here later next week.

The highlight of the past week was an attempt by tiny Pacific Island nation Tuvalu to stall the negotiations by staging a walkout as the chair of the conference refused to take up its proposal for limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial years.

However, Danish minister Connie Hedegaard, chairing the talks, insisted that procedural advances in the first six days had been "fantastic."

"The core discussions... have really started," she said adding the the delegates "still have a daunting task in front of us over the next few days."

Ramesh, who is here to participate in the ministerial meet, has said India will play a constructive role in the climate negotiations but slammed efforts of rich nations to make domestic emission reduction claims by developing nations legally-binding and verifiable.