India today agreed to be part of the Copenhagen accord as its climate allies China, Brazil and South Africa continue to remain associated with it.
Reiterating India’s position and warding off renewed pressure on the Copenhagen accord, the Prime Minister said on Friday the deal was a “catalogue of voluntary commitments and not a negotiated set of legal obligations”.
The hole in the ozone layer is now steadily closing, but chances are that it could aggravate warming in the southern hemisphere, warns a new study.

An Australian professor, who co-authored the climate report that wrongly claimed Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035, said the discovery of the error does not undermine the science but added the charge that IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri may have have benefitted by receiving funds for his institute 'looks extremely bad.'

India, Brazil, China and South Africa, together called the Basic countries, on Sunday said the Copenhagen Accord was only a political agreement and not legally binding as being argued by the developed countries.
Chetan Chauhan reports.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has voiced strong reservations over Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and UN Chief Ban-Ki-Moon pressing for submission of emission targets and climate actions under the Copenhagen Accord before the January 31 deadline.

The IPCC admitted its conclusion on melting of Himalayan glaciers by 2035 was based on “poorly substantiated” estimates. The panel, led by R.K. Pachauri, expressed “regret” for “poor application of well established procedures” for the conclusion. See special

The man blamed so far for the false alarm about the Himalayan glaciers melting by 2035 surfaced on Tuesday to say he never made such an exact assertion and, worse, he had been misquoted.
Chetan Chauhan reports.
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The World Wide Fund for Nature admitted that it was wrong in claiming in a 2005 report that Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035.
Chetan Chauhan reports.
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Full CoverageWith pressure mounting on India to sign the Copenhagen Accord, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to meet environment ministers from China, Brazil and South Africa — which, along with India, form the Basic countries — on January 23 to discuss the issue.
India is expected to decide within a fortnight if it’ll ratify the accord reached at the last month’s climate change summit in Copenhagen.
"India brought China onboard at Copenhagen. US actually owes a lot to India," said Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh in New Delhi.
The UN climate change summit in Copenhagen "has reminded us of the importance of the emerging countries, like India and Brazil", the European Union's first President Herman Van Rompuy has said.
A dark north European December morning, under the warm, yellow glow of street lights, a silent snow fell on the stream of cyclists hurrying to work, study and shop. It was - 1 degree C, but that never stopped a people determined to be fit, happy and ready for a warmer Earth, writes Samar Halrnkar.
China defended the role played by premier Wen Jiabao at climate change talks in Copenhagen this month after a barrage of international criticism blaming China for obstructing negotiations.