‘US can't interfere in our climate actions’

The US claim that India's domestic climate actions can be challenged was dismissed by the government as a remark of a "spin doctor" for domestic consumption while a top climate expert said the Copenhagen accord brooked no such interference.

The US claim that India's domestic climate actions can be challenged was dismissed by the government as a remark of a "spin doctor" for domestic consumption while a top climate expert said the Copenhagen accord brooked no such interference.

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Responding to queries by members in the Rajya Sabha on his statement Copenhagen accord, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh made light of comments by White House senior adviser David Axelrod that the stated climate change goals of India and China can be held to close scrutiny.

The remark was that of a "spin doctor" aimed at domestic consumption, Ramesh said, adding he would rather believe President Barack Obama that the accord was not legally binding and allows each country to show what it was doing.

"He (Axelrod) is the spin doctor of Obama administration. He is the Arun Jaitley (BJP leader)of US. I go by what President Obama has himself said and nowhere he has said this accord is meant to control or strangulate China or India."

Ramesh said Axelrod's statement was made for "domestic consumption" and to appease the unions by claiming that India and China have to abide by verifications.

R.K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made it clear there was no power granted to the US in the Copenhagen accord for any interference as claimed by Axelrod.