Copenhagen:
India's Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, has said, "India has a good deal" in the Climate Draft negotiated by US President Barack Obama with India, China, Brazil and South Africa (who are negotiating an international climate treaty as the BASIC group).
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delayed his departure from Copenhagen by several hours as he met with Obama and other BASIC heads to rescue Copenhagen from ending without any sort of accord.
Indian officials noted that the US-brokered deal had addressed India's concerns adequately, although some improvements could be made.
"The red lines have been met," said Shyam Saran, the PM's Special Envoy for Climate Change. Saran noted that India did not have to compromise on any of its fundamental stands on the issue.
"What we said was that with regard to supported (climate) actions, that is those actions for which we are receiving financial resources or we are receiving technology, with respect to those actions, we have no difficulty with international scrutiny, including reporting measurement, verification," Saran said.
But, as far as India's "unsupported" or voluntary actions are concerned, it is ready to report them as part and parcel of its national communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCC). "It could be available to the international community in our national communication," he said.
"What we have now agreed is that with respect to those communications where we are reporting (climate actions), there can be international consultations and analysis. That is whatever information that has been supplied can be subjected to analysis, but such analysis and such consultation have to be without any violation of the principle of national sovereignty," Saran said.
For the past two weeks, delegates from 194 countries had tried to reach a legally-binding treaty to combat climate change. Instead, a non legally-binding political accord, brokered by the US, is now in front of them.