Jairam Ramesh to meet 'critical' emerging nations in Beijing

With the climate change talks in Copenhagen in December only a fortnight away, Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, is flying to China to meet up with a few representatives of ‘critical’ emerging countries like Brazil and South Africa to arrive at a meeting point. He will leave on 27 November and return on 29 November.

“The environment ministers of some emerging countries that are vociferous in the G-77 are meeting in Beijing ahead of the Copenhagen summit. Countries like India, China, Brazil and South Africa are meeting to discuss their stands,” said an official. Both India and China have been in the same bloc as the Group of 77 countries in climate negotiations. G-77 is the 131-member bloc of developing nations.

“India is working, and will continue to work, closely with our partners in the G-77 and China in articulating a common position on this issue, while also engaging with other countries to our benefit,” Ramesh had said in an earlier statement.

Last month, India and China had signed a Memorandum of Agreement for five years to cooperate on ways to fight climate change and work together in international climate deal negotiations by strengthening the cooperative activities between the two countries on mitigation programmes, projects, technology development and demonstration relating to greenhouse gas emission reduction including energy conservation efficiency, renewable energies, clean coal, methane recovery and utilisation, afforestation and sustainable management of forests and ecosystems, transportation and sustainable habitat.