India, China strengthened position on climate change: Govt

Heated debates are expected to dominate the UN summit on climate change at Copenhagen with developing nations coming with their own draft to pre-empt developed nations' likely move to insist on binding carbon emission cuts.

Heated debates are expected to dominate the UN summit on climate change at Copenhagen with developing nations coming with their own draft to pre-empt developed nations' likely move to insist on binding carbon emission cuts.

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"What China and India besides other key developing nations have done is consolidating their position anchored in the UN Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of the climate meet," a senior government official said about the recent two-day talks in Beijing.

The countries had said they had reached an agreement on major issues, including the need for the West to provide finance and technology to help developing nations combat global warming.

The official strongly felt that India and developing nations, through the declaration listing their "non-negotiable" demands have made clear that they will not take binding emission cuts that would compromise their development growth.

"But still, we have shown our intention to be "flexible", for instance ready to report and verify mitigation action in case they are backed by requisite finance and technology," he added.

To this, he referred to the statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, made at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet, that said, "India is willing to sign on to an ambitious global target for emission reduction or limiting temperature increase if it is accompanied by an equitable burden-sharing paradigm."