Copenhagen, December 16: With Just three day left for the talks on climate change, possibility of an agreement on the issue has further reduced. Both India and China maintain that there is no change in the attitude of the rich club of nations. China took the lead in stepping up pressure against the US and other Western powers. The Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan called for greater unity among developing nations at the discussions in Copenhagen. He alleged that the developed Countries made efforts to split the group of emerging economies.
The negotiations were briefly stalled over the unwillingness of developed countries to discuss their previous commitments. Our correspondent adds that currently this process is relatively slow. The main reason is the developed countries which are now going back on their positions on critical issues. They include mitigation, financial support and technology transfer. The Chinese ambassador said that this is not only incomprehensible and unacceptable but will also have a serious impact on the negotiation process and hinder the Copenhagen Conference from achieving positive results. Expressing similar views Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that the three disputed provisions have come from the Alliance of Small Island States in the long term cooperative action track, which can not be accepted by India. Our correspondent quoting highly informed sources reports that the developed countries are attempting to push for a deal in the second track called the Long Term Cooperative Action talks. This deals calls upon all countries, including emerging economies, to take commitments, of one or the other kind, to reduce emissions as equals regardless of historical responsibility.
Expressing dismay at the nature of talks which he described are at the brink, noted agriculture scientist and Member Parliament Dr. M S Sawminathan said that the climate change will have worst impact on agriculture sector. In an exclusive interview with AIR, he warned if just one degree temperature increases, Indian agriculture sector will loose more than 300 billion dollars which is more than the developed countries pledged for mitigation purposes of the developing countries at the G-8 summit in Italy early this year. He asserted that it will lead not only to less productivity but also weakening of the rural economy with further rise in the food prices. Dr. Swaminathan urged New Delhi to increase investment in this sector on a large scale to address the issue of food security and deal with the climate change.
Meanwhile, the White House says, President Obama is confident of securing a deal on carbon emission at the Copenhagen conference on climate Change. The talks are currently deadlocked over emission cuts and financial aid for poorer countries. But, 48 hours before President Obama heads for the Conference, White House spokesman said, he believed an operational deal was possible.
The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is already in Copenhagen said, it was a critical moment. He admitted, the outcome hangs in the balance. He said, in the next two days, we must make sure that a common ground is found between all our continents on dealing with this huge issue of climate change.
–Agencies