India, China Formally Agree to Climate Change Accord
India and China has formally supported today the Climate Change Agreement formulated in Copenhagen last year which calls for voluntary cut in greenhouse gas emissions, said reports.
The two countries submitted official letters to the UN Climate Change Secretariat citing that they consented to being listed in the preamble of the Accord subject to certain conditions, said reports.
“It may be recalled that India actively participated in the discussions on the Copenhagen Accord. India stands by the contents of the Accord,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh wrote to the UN Climate Chief Yvo de Boer.
“The Accord is only an input into the two-track negotiations. The Accord is not a new track of negotiations or a template for outcomes,” he was quoted as saying.
While China’s chief climate negotiator Su Wei said in a one sentence note, “I am writing to confirm that the Secretariat can proceed to include China in the list of parties included in the chapeau of the Copenhagen Accord.”
It may be mentioned that India has made it clear that the Accord is a political document and not a legally binding one.
“The Accord could have value if the areas of convergence reflected in it are used to help the parties reach agreed outcomes under the UN multilateral negotiations in the two tracks – the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action and the Ad-hoc Working Group on Kyoto Protocol,” Ramesh wrote.
(Based on internet reports)
