New Delhi,October 20: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s letter to the prime minister suggesting India needs to dramatically change its stance on climate change has created an uproar.
According to one newspaper, the letter said India ‘must mitigate its carbon emissions in self interest,’ and that India must no longer support the G77, a group of developing nations, but ally with the G20, a grouping of the world’s 20 richest countries.
The newspaper quotes Ramesh as saying that sticking with the old stance could cost India a UN Security Council seat.
But India’s old partners at climate negotiations such as China feel betrayed. Only last week, the two neighbours jointly condemned the US’s efforts to break the unity of developing countries.
What’s worse is Ramesh also faces a mutiny from his own negotiators. One of them who spoke to NewsX on the condition of anonymity says “(Ramesh) has gone behind our backs and said something completely different to our interlocutors. I don’t understand on what authority he has given such assurances.”
A climate negotiations expert with a prominent Delhi think-tank, who also requests anonymity is equally vitriolic. “It’s a bad move. Getting a UN (security council) seat is definitely not worth it.”
Earlier this afternoon, Jairam Ramesh refused to comment on the letter, leaving a press conference as soon as he was asked about it.
Considering the damage and criticism this letter has effected, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh now has few options.
He could deny the letter exists, but Ramesh’s silence when given a chance to comment on it precludes this option.
He could publicly denounce Ramesh’s letter, but that would still leave allies such as China unsure of India’s commitment.
Finally, he could ask Ramesh to step down. This is a very risky move, but it’s perhaps the only one that will restore India’s credibility among other developing countries.
No one really knows how this is going to end. What is clear right now is that Jairam Ramesh has taken a lot of personal criticism for changing India’s stance on climate change.
The worst case scenario right is that India loses all its allies and its credibility that it has built up for the last 15 years in climate negotiations.
–Agencies