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Pranab likely to lead India delegation
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the United Nations climate summit at Copenhagen will depend on the possibility of a binding climate treaty.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the United Nations climate summit at Copenhagen will depend on the possibility of a binding climate treaty. If that does not happen, the government is likely to nominate Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the meeting of heads of the state slated for December 18.
The summit is starting on December 7 and will end of December 18.
As many as 65 heads of the state — such as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — have agreed to participate in the December 18 plenary, where a political statement is expected in absence of a consensus on a global climate treaty.
Mukherjee is the second seniormost cabinet minister after Singh. “If the PM decides not to go, then he (Mukherjee) is likely to visit to show that India is for a strong action on climate mitigation,” a senior government official said on the condition of anonymity.
A final decision is likely to be made in third week after examining the outcome of the first round of the ministerial
conference.
The finance minister’s office said the options for Mukherjee are open.
An official in the Prime
Minister’s Office said Manmohan Singh was yet to make up his mind on the visit.
During his conversation with US President Barak Obama, Singh said India would play a constructive role at the Copenhagen summit.
The Indian delegation of up to 35 persons will include parliamentarians such as Murli Manohar Joshi (BJP), Sitaram Yechury CPI(M), Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) and M.S. Saminathanan, a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.
“We have to take a strong position of not accepting any binding emission cuts at Copenhagen while continuing with our domestic action,” Sitaram Yechury told HT.
Joshi said India could not be expected of taking emission reduction target, as its contribution to climate change was negligible.
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