Small nations open new front at climate meet; India opposes

Opening a new front at climate talks here, small island nations today sought to junk the 1997 Kyoto protocol by floating their draft which India vowed to resist as it sees it as an attempt to bracket developed and developing nations together on legally-binding emission cuts.

Opening a new front at climate talks here, small island nations today sought to junk the 1997 Kyoto protocol by floating their draft which India vowed to resist as it sees it as an attempt to bracket developed and developing nations together on legally-binding emission cuts.

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Led by Tuvalu, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) circulated a draft -- 'Copenhagen Protocol' -- that calls for amendments to the Kyoto Protocol, binding emerging developing nations with more responsibilities.

"Today we have put forward a proposal for a legally binding agreement to secure the twin objectives of survival of the Kyoto Protocol to strengthen the UNFCCC with a new 'Copenhagen Protocol' that can be adopted here in Copenhagen," said Ambassador of Grenada, Dessima Williams.

"We believe our proposal provides a fresh way of looking at how existing proposals from many different countries can be assembled into a coherent legal form while maintaining the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol and the primacy of the UNFCCC," Ambassador of Cape Verde, Antonio Lima, said.

Unhappy with the move, India said it will not accept any changes or extension to the Kyoto Protocol, which is the only legally-binding document that imposes emission reduction targets on industrialised countries, excluding the US.

India's Environment Secretary Vijay Sharma said the new proposals amounted to "bracket" together rich countries and emerging economies and weaken legal obligations of developed nations under Kyoto protocol.