Sharing India's views, French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday said the upcoming Copenhagen meet on climate change should not miss the opportunity to tackle the problem as it would be a "historic failure" and asserted that New Delhi will not be a deal-breaker.
Sarkozy, who held a
luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Port Of Spain and discussed climate change, said he was "fully confident" that the latter would attend the Copenhagen Summit being held on December 18.
As of now, Singh, who is in Port Of Spain for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), is not going to Copenhagen where Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh will be representing India at the meet.
"India has nothing to lose and everything to gain by being in Copenhagen. If India is to be heard, it needs to be present," Sarkozy said addressing a press conference in Port Of Spain.
Noting that there was a "tremendous sense of urgency" surrounding the Copenhagen summit, Sarkozy said, "We can't afford to miss the opportunity. It is imperative that heads of state and government are present on December 18-19 in Copenhagen."
His views reflect those of India which has been insisting that the efforts to take some decision should not be given up and some results must be achieved at the upcoming meeting.
"We need to get commitments with binding decisions," Sarkozy said, adding the industrial and emerging countries like Brazil must commit to a 50 per cent carbon reduction by 2050.