Climate accord blueprint delivered at Paris talks; negotiators appear confident

A blueprint for a pact to cap greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming was delivered today by negotiators from 195 nations as India hoped for a "just and equitable" outcome at the climate conference.

The 48-page draft accord, still entailing conflicting proposals, will form the basis on which ministers from across the globe, including Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, will try to formulate a binding deal.

As the high-stake climate talks entered its sixth day, negotiators appeared confident that some kind of deal will be reached before next weekend and they will be able to avert a repeat of the 2009 Copenhagen summit -- that failed miserably.

Analysts said any deal emerging from Paris is likely to fall short of what is needed to cap global warming at 2.0 degrees Celsius or below.

Meanwhile, India is hoping for a "just and equitable" outcome at the Paris summit.

"India is looking at a just and equitable outcome firmly anchored in the UNFCCC. India's priorities are both mitigation and adaptation and both are equally important," said Susheel Kumar, one of the negotiators.

He said that adaptation has a direct link with climate justice and poverty and the need for adaptation takes a higher toll on poor people.

"Developed nations say mitigation is the way out and therefore more important. India says adaptation is equally important. India is strongly supportive of food security. Adaptation in the agriculture sector will ensure food security," he said yesterday.

Asked about predicting India's peaking year, he said that the country has consulted technical experts and institutions to make an assessment of whether the country can project a peaking year.

"We were advised that it is premature to predict the peaking year for carbon emissions because of our low economic development compared to China," he said.

Also yesterday, US special envoy for climate change Todd Stern said India and the US are working in a "constructive way" for a climate deal that is comfortable to both.

"India and US have a very strong history of working collaboratively. That is going on right now," Stern said.

Stern said he had four to five meetings with Indian counterparts in the last one week and both nations are working "quite intensively in a business and constructive way".

His statement came in the backdrop of US Secretary of State John Kerry's remark ahead of the talks that India will be a "challenge".