'India agrees to being listed in 'Hagen Accord preamble'
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Mar 09, 2010, 14:34 IST
India today said it has agreed to its name being listed in the preamble of the Copenhagen Accord subject to certain conditions.
"Listing in Chapeau (preamble) of the Accord implies that we participated in the negotiations on the Copenhagen Accord and that we stand by the Accord," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a suo-motu statement in the Lok Sabha.
He said India has also conveyed three conditions for its name being listed in the preamble of the Accord.
India has made it clear that the Accord is a political document and not a legally binding one; the Accord is not a separate track of negotiations outside the UNFCCC and the purpose of the Accord was to bring consensus in the existing and ongoing two-track process under the UNFCCC, Ramesh said.
"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," he said.
Ramesh said India had agreed to listing under the Chapeau after "careful consideration" and believed that the decision reflected the role it had played in giving shape to the Copenhagen Accord.
Brazil, South Africa and China, other members of the BASIC group, have already agreed to such a listing and communicated their association to the UN Framework Convention Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Ramesh said besides the BASIC countries, many other countries from the G-77 and China group have also associated themselves with the Accord.
The minister also informed the House that India had communicated to the UNFCCC of the measures it would take to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 in comparison to the 2005 level.
"While doing so, we have clarified that the proposed domestic actions are voluntary in nature and will not have a legally binding character," he said.
Ramesh said voluntary actions will be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the relevant national legislations and policies as well as the principles and relevant provisions of the UNFCCC.
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