India not ready for a new climate regime

DURBAN: India is flexibile on the three agendas – equity, IPR and trade barriers and would not let them turn into a hurdle for the talks, India’s chief negotiator, J M Mauskar said on Saturday.

While these were important and substantial issues, Mauskar said India was fine with them getting resolved over one to three years instead of just Durban as long as they are not taken off the discussion table completely.

The three issues that India wants to be resolved before any talks of a new single global climate deal is made, had found opposition from the developed world but gained support from a large number of developing countries including the other BASIC members, China, Brazil and South Africa.

Mauskar said India had shown flexibility in not pushing it to the centre of the talks but ensuring that the issues were kept alive. “We want to be constructive here at Durban and not controversial."

Sources told TOI that there had been some give in from key developed countries and discussions were to be held later on Saturday on how to make the Indian proposal part of the formal UN talks.

While the idea of equity in climate debate is embedded in the Kyoto Protocol, India has felt that if the protocol falls through the principle must be retained intact for any discussions on a future deal.

A presentation of the report of experts from BASIC countries on equity too is slated for Durban and has already made some developed economies uncomfortable because it is bound to provide more meat to the discussions in coming years.