India signs MoU on climate change

Taking a positive leap towards combating climate change India has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Governments of Italy, Canada, Denmark, Norway and China regarding cooperation on climate change including clean development mechanism projects.

The MoU is intended to stimulate development and bilateral cooperation in the field of clean development mechanism (CDM). While the agreement signed with China focuses on promotion of mutual understanding and coordination on climate change related issues, including international negotiations and bilateral cooperation in areas relating to energy efficiency, renewable, power, clean coal and other sectors of mutual interest.

It is to be noted here that no such agreements have been signed so far with the USA, Sweden and European Union, said Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Jairam Ramesh in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The MoUs will help build confidence between India and partner countries and promote development and implementation of CDM projects as well as coordination, mutual understanding and joint strategies on climate change related issues.

India has been advocating compliance of the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which enjoins upon the developed countries to UNFCCC to provide finance and transfer of technology to developing countries to enable them to respond to climate change.

The current negotiations at Copenhagen are aimed, inter alia, at deciding institutional arrangements for development and transfer of clean technologies through technology cooperation and provision of financial resources to developing countries to enable them to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Parties are currently engaged in negotiations under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol in order to reach agreed outcomes at the 15th Conference of Parties scheduled in Copenhagen in December 2009.

However, the intentions of developed countries into the process of combating climate change have not been encouraging so far. Advanced countries want to scrap the protocol. But developing countries are keen to have it continue, and are asking the rich countries to what extent they have complied with the protocol and what they are willing to commit under it. In fact, the fundamental difference over whether the Kyoto Protocol - the current treaty under which rich countries have to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are causing climate change - should continue or be scrapped remained.