Criticising minister of state for environment Jairam Ramesh for offering to accept legally-binding responsibilities on emission cuts at the ongoing UN climate change summit in Cancun, Mexico, the country’s major environmental groups said his remarks were “unfortunate” and a “complete capitulation” to the United States. The Opposition too described it as a “sellout” of the country’s interests. His own party colleague Saifuddin Soz, a former minister, also attacked Mr Ramesh, saying it was a “wrong” thing to do.
Ms Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and Environment, one of the country’s premier “green” organisations, said Mr Ramesh’s statement amounted to a radical shift in India’s position and would adversely hit the country’s efforts to contain the effects of climate change.
The “green” groups felt that the minister’s U-turn in Cancun had opened the door to “internationalising” the country’s domestic commitments, which India had been opposing since the
day it signed the international convention. India has always maintained that its domestic mitigation actions would be voluntary in nature and that it would not accept any binding international commitments.
The Opposition parties, including the BJP and the Left parties, said Mr Ramesh’s statement was a major departure from the country’s long-established position, endorsed by the entire bloc of developing countries: that global warming was a problem caused by the developed countries and that it was their primary responsibility to reduce emissions.
Mr Ramesh’s party colleague Saifuddin Soz said: “Instead of telling the US firmly to come forward and accept commitments on legally-binding responsibilities, Ramesh offered that India will accept legally-binding commitments on emission cuts. This is essentially wrong.” The Congress leader said India was already doing a lot to cut emissions through voluntary initiatives and there was no need to accept legally-binding commitments. Mr Soz added: “The US continues to be the largest emitter of greenhouse gases but has still not ratified the Kyoto Protocol.”
The Opposition parties also attacked the minister over his “radical change of stand” at the Cancun summit and “succumbing” to US pressure. They accused him of “exceeding the parliamentary mandate” on the issue, with the BJP demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clarify India’s stand on the issue.
Mr Ramesh, while speaking at the high-level segment of the Cancun conference on Wednesday, said that all countries must make binding commitments under the appropriate legal form to control their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), mainly carbon dioxide, which cause climate change. He later clarified: “What I have said does not contradict our known position. We do not intend to make our domestic actions on climate change legally binding in nature.”
Mr Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said: “This obvious contradiction is incomprehensible. Either the minister feels he is too clever by half ... or that the nation is incapable of comprehending his volte face. The stand he has taken in contrary to the parliamentary mandate.”
Said CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat: “The position of the Indian delegation in Cancun led by Jairam Ramesh, in which they have succumbed to pressure, primarily by the US-led developed countries, to agree to legally binding limitations on emission, can be described only in two words — this is a sellout, and it is extremely unfortunate this should have happened. We strongly condemn it and demand that the government come clean on this issue.”