Lima conference: India planning to raise consumption-based emission issue

NEW DELHI: India is planning to bring to the discussion table the issue of consumption-based emission at the upcoming UN climate conference in Lima.

"We are talking about not only per capita emission, but per capita consumption... Now it is the new thing to be added to the Lima debate," said a top Environment Ministry official days ahead of the conference at the Peruvian capital.

"Our view will not be a position of rhetoric as usual," the official said.

Climate officials in the government have initiated discussions with different stakeholders including NGOs and state governments on the climate policy to be adopted by India at the UN Conference.

Environmental NGOs like Sunita Narain-headed Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have accused developed world of consumption-based emission.

According to them, the production-based emissions of rich nations have come down because they shifted the polluting industries to the developing countries.

They also allege that the rich nations have been fulfilling their domestic requirements through imports from the developing nations like India and China.

Earlier in the day, the US and China, the world's top carbon emitters, reached a groundbreaking deal on climate change calling for ambitious action to limit greenhouse gases.

The move could lead to India de-linking itself from China at future global climate negotiations.

In a major breakthrough, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama, announced respective post- 2020 goals of coping with climate change after a comprehensive round of talks in Beijing.