Copenhagen:
Can the Climate Summit at Copenhagen recover from near-collapse?
In his speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said "Copenhagen may fall short of expectations" as US President Obama made it clear that verification and monitoring has to be part of an overall world deal.
World leaders are trying their hardest to end a deadlock so that they can arrive at a political statement on how they will tackle climate change. The original goal of sealing a legally-binding agreement at Copenhagen was virtually abandoned even before the Summit began - it was apparent the differences between the developing and developed countries would not be bridged for now, at least.
India, China, Brazil and South Africa (who are collectively negotiating as BASIC) are worried that the new draft - a statement of purpose, in effect - will bury basic principles such as "common but differentiated responsibility" which requires richer nations to do more than developing countries on emission cuts.
Another major point of difference is that richer countries want the agreement to include a way to measure what countries are going to comply with their targets - they want the process to be open to scrutiny. Obama said, "We must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our commitments, and to exchange this information in a transparent manner. These measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty. They must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we are living up to our obligations. For without such accountability, any agreement would be empty words on a page." He also warned that there will be no aid that "had no strings" attached.
Verification has been strongly opposed by China as an infringement of its sovereignty. India has agreed to scrutiny only of internationally-funded projects.
Manmohan Singh stressed that developed countries cannot abandon the Kyoto Protocol under which developed countries are legally-bound to cut their emissions. That agreement expires in 2012. "Each one of us gathered here today acknowledges that those most affected by climate change are the least responsible for it," Singh said.
He added that India will deliver its voluntary target of reducing carbon intensity by 20 per cent by 2020. This refers to the measure of emissions per unit of economic activity. "We have a difficult task ahead of us. I hope we will play a positive and constructive role so that we bridge our differences and come out with a balanced and an equitable outcome in the coming years. India will not be found wanting in this," he said.