PM may attend climate summit in Copenhagen

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to attend the forthcoming Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, overcoming initial reluctance. According to sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), US President Barack Obama also requested Singh to attend the summit during his phone call today.

Sources close to Singh suggest the PM has had his reservations about attending the Copenhagen summit, as it is expected to yield little in terms of outcomes.

However, as many other heads of state like Hu Jintao, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Obama himself are attending the summit, Singh has been advised not to miss the meet.

The Prime Minister may go to Copenhagen after all. He is likely to be there on December 18 when the declaration is scheduled to be signed.

The summit starts on December 7 and almost 90 Heads of States are expected to participate on the concluding day on December 18.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, too, will come to New Delhi straight from Copenhagen.

Top United Progressive Alliance (UPA) sources suggest, Obama had requested Singh’s presence at Copenhagen during their recent meeting at Washington as well. The UPA government is also confident that China will stand by India on the issues of carbon emission reduction. Manmohan Singh government has made it clear that it would not accept any commitment for a largescale cut in emissions but is ready to assure the developed countries that the per capita emission of India will remain lower than the average per capita emission of the developed countries.

During the recent meeting of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart, China had assured it would stick to its position of supporting India on this issue. India is also asking the developed countries to fund the use of green technology in power projects. According to UPA sources, Brazil, Russia and China have agreed to remain united on this issue as well.

“In our country, there are still 300 million people who don’t have access to electricity. Before talking about reduction in emission in mega power projects, we first have to ensure that this section of the population is provided with electricity,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Business Standard.

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, has been urged by climate change expert and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chairman R K Pachauri today to attend the UN summit.

“I hope the Prime Minister will go to Copehangen since the Environment Minister (Jairam Ramesh) has already been stressing that India wants to be seen as a deal-maker and not deal-breaker,” Pachauri said today.