EU: India, China must pledge cuts

Copenhagen, Dec. 11: The European Union has made it clear that India and China would have to offer their domestic pledges on reducing carbon intensity as a “binding commitment” and that this should be verifiable by the international community.

The EU director-general (environment), Mr Karl Falkenberg, said that without a binding commitment from the developing countries or the ability of the global community to verify or monitor its progress, the whole process would become meaningless.

Mr Falkenberge said that the EU had committed to reduce its carbon emissions and will submit itself to a verification process by an international body.

“We ask that at the minimum the developing countries to do the same.” He said the EU is not asking any country to follow a particular path, but to offer its own plan, which must be opened to global scrutiny.

Mr Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, part of the Indian delegation, who represented India at the meeting said it was “disappointing” that attempts were being made to “change the rules of the game” and that the EU was ignoring the concept of “climate justice or equity” from the whole equation, and ignoring.

He said the developed nations had committed to the UN framework convention on climate change to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2000, but had totally failed to do so.