United States can challenge India if it fails to meet climate goals

Even though the Copenhagen accord is not legally binding, the United States would not only "review" its implementation by India and China, but also would "challenge" them if they do not meet the goals set by the agreement, the White House said.

"Now, China, India have set goals. We are going to be able to review what they are doing. We are going to be able to challenge them if they do not meet those goals," David Axelrod, senior White House advisor, told the CNN yesterday.

White House adviser, who is full of appreciation for the last-minute non-binding Copenhagen climate accord, called it as "a great step forward". "Nobody says that this is the end of the road. The end of the road would have been the complete collapse of those talks. This is a great step forward," Axelrod said.

"Because this was noted and accepted by the entire conference, the UN  now has the ability to move forward on these things and to implement them," he added. Meanwhile, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said the accord was "a good deal" for India.

Prime minister's Climate envoy Shyam Saran has said that India did not have to compromise on any of its fundamental stands on the issue.

Approved after marathon negotiations last week between US, China India, Brazil and South Africa, the accord says greenhouse gases and other emissions by all nations must be reduced enough to prevent average global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius.