India will not accept legally binding emission cuts: minister

Government today told Rajya Sabha that it will protect the nation's interest at the Copenhagen Summit on climate change and not accept legally binding emission cuts.

"I can give an assurance to the House that country's interest will be protected," Minister of State of Finance Namo Narain Meena said answering a question put to Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh, who is attending the summit in the Danish capital.

He said Ramesh will appraise Parliament, if it is in session, on his return from the summit.

Meena said India has announced a voluntary 20-25 per cent cut in carbon emission intensity by 2020 on the 2005 levels. It will however not accept legally binding emission cuts and not agree to any "peaking year" for green house gas emissions.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be attending the summit this week to give "a political statement", he said.

Climate change, he said, was being handled at the highest level. Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change is headed by Singh while expert committees on assessment of its impact as well as eight missions under National Action Plan on Climate Change have been constituted.