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implementation of the commitments by developed countries including assessments byexperts and consultations with developing countries.

4. Kyoto Protocol : At the same time, the parties to Kyoto Protocol have agreedto continue to work towards finalizing their targets for the second commitment period(post-2012 period) with the aim to ensure that there is no gap between the first andsecond commitment periods of the Protocol.

5. Mitigation Actions by Developing Countries : Under the agreements, thedeveloping countries will also list their nationally appropriate mitigation actions (notmitigation commitments or targets) in a document under the Convention, andimplement them with the financial, technological and capacity building supportprovided by developed countries for such actions. The text also calls forinternational consultation and analysis of developing country actions in amanner that is non-intrusive, non-punitive, facilitative and respectful ofnational sovereignty. This will apply to nationally determined actions, implementedon a voluntary basis in pursuance of the domestic mitigation goal, and reported

through the official national communication of the country concerned. This was a keyarea where India played a crucial role in mediating an agreement that was acceptable toboth developed and developing countries.

6. Forestry : The agreement encourages developing countries to undertake actionson reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation offorest stocks, and sustainable management of forests (the latter being most relevant toIndia, where we are actually increasing our forest stock through sustainable forestry). Itcalls upon developing countries to prepare national strategies/plans for the same. Theagreement also asks for full and effective participation of indigenous people

and local communities in developing and implementing these strategies. Anassessment of financial options to support these actions is also to be worked out.

7. Response Measures and Trade : This urges developed countries to ensurethat their climate actions avoid negative consequences on developing countries. Onunilateral trade measures, it notes that measures taken to combat climate change,including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiablediscrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Although the languageis not quite perfect from our perspective, this seeks to address an important concern ofIndia and other developing countries that climate change should not be used asan excuse to impose unilateral trade measures on developing countries.

8. Finance : It calls upon developed countries to provide fast start finance ofUSD 30 billion in 2010-12 to developing countries and submit transparentinformation regarding the provision of these resources. The Agreements also recognizethe need of providing long term finance by the developed countries and inscribe theircommitment of raising USD 100 billion per year by 2020 for supportingadaptation and mitigation actions in developing countries. Most importantly, theparties have decided on the establishment of a Green Climate Fund as the

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operating entity of the financial mechanism. This was a long pending demand ofdeveloping countries and represents one of the most notable achievements,following persistent and protracted negotiations on this issue. The Fund is to begoverned by a board of 24 members, equally represented from developed anddeveloping countries. The World Bank will be the trustee of the fund for the initial 3years when the fund is set up and operationalised.

9. Technology Development and Transfer : The agreement decides toestablish a Technology Mechanism for supporting research, development,demonstration, deployment, diffusion and transfer of technology in the area ofmitigation and adaptation. The Mechanism will be governed by a Technology ExecutiveCommittee with 20 members, 9 from developed countries, and 11 from developingcountries, and its functions will be implemented by a Climate Technology Centre andNetwork. India was the key player in drafting the text on the Technology Mechanism.

II. INDIAS KEY CONTRIBUTIONS AT CANCUN

India made 5 specific contributions to the final agreed text, in addition to its contribution tothe process over the entire period of the Conference.

1. India ensured that for the first time the phrase equitable access tosustainable development found mention in the shared vision text (para 6). This iscritical as climate change is largely a problem caused by historical emissions, and latedevelopers like India need this equitable access to address their development priorities

and to eradicate poverty. The phrase equitable access to sustainable development issuperior to the phrase equitable access to carbon space which connotes afundamental right to pollute that is seen today as negative and insensitive to theglobal challenge of climate change.

2. India ensured that the mention of 2015 as a peaking year (para 5) and themention of a quantitative target of emissions reduction by 2050 (para 6) didnot find mention in the final text. This is important as such conditionalities could haveimposed emission reduction commitments on developing countries like India too earlyand could compromise their development prospects.

3. Indias detailed formulation on international consultation and analysis(ICA) of developing country mitigation actions in a manner that is non-intrusive, non-punitive and respectful of national sovereignty was the key input that broke animportant deadlock (paras 60-67) and helped achieve progress on issues relating tomitigation.

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4. It was India that ensured that for the first time, developed country mitigationactions will be subject to international assessment and review, which meansthat experts, including those from developing countries, will have the right to reviewwhether developed countries are living up to their commitments (paras 44 and 46 (d)).

5. Indias formulation on technology development and transfer (paras 113 to129) through a technology executive committee and climate technology centre andnetworks, formed a critical component of the final text, and a major win for developingcountries.

6. Due to Indias insistent efforts, the parties avoided a decision at Cancun onthe phrase legally binding agreement. Instead, the Ad Hoc Working Group hasbeen requested to continue discussing legal options (para 145), with the aim to reachconsensus, if possible, on this issue by the next Conference of Parties.

III. INDIAS MAJOR OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AT CANCUN

In addition to making major contributions to the text, India was visibly and constructively

engaged in the entire process at Cancun, ensuring that we spoke up for our developing countrypartners, showcased our proactive voluntary actions, pushed the envelope on the intellectualdebate, and bridged the gaps between parties. Some significant highlights of Indias outreachefforts at Cancun included the following:

1. India hosted a major side event on the importance of equity andequitable access in the climate change negotiations. This event was attended to by afull house of experts, negotiators and civil society, and showcased Indias leadershipposition on this key issue.

2. India hosted a press briefing on Indias proactive domestic actions onaddressing climate change. This was very well attended with international media fromall major countries covering the event. Here I highlighted the (i) National Action Planon Climate Change; (ii) Indian Network for Comprehensive Climate Change Assessment; (iii) Expert Group on Low-Carbon Strategy for Inclusive Growth (iv)activities being undertaken by various state governments; and (v) our regionalinitiatives in SAARC and with countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives.

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3. India acted as the coordinator of the BASIC group comprising Brazil,South Africa, India and China throughout the Conference, and will host the nextmeeting of BASIC Ministers in early 2011. Although the BASIC countries had differentapproaches on some issues, the group stayed united until the very end, and jointlywelcomed the final agreements.

4. India proactivelyreached out to other developing countries. It offered ascholarship programme for capacity building to the Small IslandDeveloping States (SIDS). India spoke for the Least Developed Countries(LDCs) and Africa, calling on developed countries to immediately disburse thepromised fast start finance, even as India had voluntarily declared at Copenhagen thatit will forego its claim to this money in favour of LDCs. India also hosted a lunch forthe SAARC Ministerswhere shared concerns were discussed.

5. India conductedbilateral meetings with various countries and groups whereit discussed negotiating positions, tried to bridge gaps and identified areas for broader bilateral cooperation. These included meetings with Japan, Germany, USA, UK,

Australia, France, Qatar, Mexico and groups like EU, Africa, Association of SmallIsland States (AOSIS) and LDCs.

6. India also served as an informal ally and facilitator for the host Mexicoin reaching out to countries to promote understanding of positions and reach anagreement.

7. I also attended a Public-Private Partnership Breakfast meeting hosted bythe Mexican President where I called for the establishment of a CGIAR-type

network of technology delivery institutions in the area of climate change .CGIAR is the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, and Ispecifically mentioned how Indias high-yielding wheat varieties in the 1960s camefrom one of the CGIAR institutions in Mexico called CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center). This suggestion was enthusiastically endorsed byProfessor Mario Molina, the 1995 Nobel Laureate in environmental chemistry and alsoby the President of Mexico.

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IV. THE ISSUE OF LEGALLY-BINDING COMMITMENTS

At the High-level segment, I made a detailed statement which highlighted Indias efforts onaddressing climate change. In this statement I also said that all countries must take on

binding commitments in an appropriate legal form. This statement has formed thebasis for much discussion at home. So I feel that I must clarify what I intended to convey andthe context in which this statement was made.

The immediate context of this statement was that there appeared to be a view being pushed bya majority of developing and developed countries at Cancun that all countries must agree to alegally-binding agreement. Most countries, including our BASIC partners Brazil and SouthAfrica, our developing country partners in AOSIS, LDCs, Africa, and four of our SAARCpartners (Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan) shared this view. The only countriesopposing this were USA, China, India, Philippines, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia andsome others. It was therefore important for India to demonstrate that it was not completelyoblivious and insensitive to the views and opinions of a large section of the global community.

It is important that a few things are understood about my statement.

First, I have called for commitments in an appropriate legal form and not alegally-binding commitment.This is an important distinction. My statement leavesopen the need for differentiation between Annex I (developed) countries and non Annex I(developing) countries. Annex I commitments could be legally binding with penalties. NonAnnex I actions could be purely voluntary and without penalties. Moreover, the reference toan appropriate legal form is a very broad one. Indeed even decisions of the Conference ofParties (COP) to the UNFCCC are of an appropriate legal form. Similarly, commitments thatour government makes to our Parliament are also, in our view, of an appropriate legal form.In fact, if you recall I had written to you way back on October 5th, 2009 where I hadmentioned the idea of introducing domestic legislation that will not contain explicit emissionreduction targets but will have implicit performance targets for mitigation and adaptation(such as mandatory fuel efficiency standards by 2011, mandatory energy conservation-compliant building codes by 2012, 20% contribution of renewables to Indias energy mix by2030 etc.). Many countries like Brazil and Mexico already have such laws and others likeChina and South Africa are also considering such legislation.

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Second, contrary to some misquoted references in the domestic media, I did not make anycommitment on India undertaking absolute emission cuts. India has made it veryclear that while it will undertake voluntary mitigation actions, including reducing theemissions intensity of its GDP by 20-25% by 2020 on a 2005 reference year, India will nottake on any emission cuts or agree to any peaking year for its emissions. There is no changein this position.

Third, as I have clarified repeatedly, a legally-binding agreement is not acceptable toIndia at this stage. I made it clear thatunless we have clarity on (a) what the substance ofsuch an agreement is, (b) what the penalties for non-compliance are, and (c) what the systemfor monitoring is, we will not be able to even consider a legally-binding agreement. Thisposition remains unchanged.

As I have stated, due to Indias efforts, the phrase legally-binding agreement did not findmention in the text. Instead, a loose reference to continue discussing legal options wasincluded.

My effort was to walk the thin line between safeguarding our position while showing a level ofsensitivity to the view shared by the majority of countries at Cancun, including many of ourdeveloping country partners. I believe we have been able to walk this thin line effectively withthis stand. This nuancing of our position will expand negotiating options for usand give us an all-round advantageous standing.

V. CONCLUSION

My constant effort has been to ensure that our negotiating stance on climate change is guidedby three principles: (i) the need to protect our economic growth, inclusive development andpoverty eradication agenda; (ii) the pursuit of our domestic environmental policies; and (iii)the achievement of our foreign policy objectives, in particular that India be seen as aconstructive, solution-oriented player in global negotiations. I believe we have managed toaccomplish these three objectives at Cancun.

As you are aware, I have never shied away from a debate in Parliament and I look forward to adetailed discussion on the Cancun Agreements and Indias role in the Budget Session of

Parliament. We have nothing to hide, and I remain committed to keeping Parliament fullyinformed of all our actions and to listening carefully to the views expressed by the HonourableMembers.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

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(Jairam Ramesh)17th December 2010

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