http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/India-asks-UN-to-take-tough-stand-against-protectionism/articleshow/6009403.cms
NEW DELHI: India has demanded that the UN prevent any green protectionism by developed countries and include an explicit statement in the opening charter of any new deal to block carbon-based taxes being imposed on exports from developing countries such as India.
The statement to the effect was made by the Indian delegation at the start of climate negotiations in Bonn on Tuesday. The UN talks on climate, in continuation of the last big meeting in Copenhagen, besides discussing the future of Kyoto Protocol will also look to hammer out a new long-term deal. While developing countries such as India have been keen that any such deal have a clear charter or preamble, which in climate jargon is being called a ‘shared vision’, the US has been opposed to any such elaborate ‘vision’ which would reinstate principles of equity that the existing UN Framework Convention imposes.
In its latest submission, India said, “The matter of any unilateral trade measures on imports in the name of climate action raises some concerns regarding the success of our discussions. Such measures would only be tantamount to ‘green protectionism’ and may burden the affected countries, particularly the developing countries, by in effect subjecting them to similar mitigation obligations as of developed countries without any financial support.”