http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091201/wl_sthasia_afp/unclimatewarmingindiadenmark
NEW DELHI (AFP) – India Tuesday rejected a Danish draft proposal on climate change which seeks to cap emissions, widening the gulf between rich and poor nations ahead of next week's Copenhagen talks.
Media reports say the Danish offer sets 2025 as a deadline for all countries to cap their emissions irrespective of current levels, essentially blurring the line between the developed world and countries that are still industrialising.
In an interview on the CNN-IBN news channel, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the draft proposal "clearly is unacceptable to us".
India has said any cap on emissions growth would hamper its rapid economic expansion, which relies on heavily polluting fuels like coal.
India has yet to announce any figures for limiting its carbon output ahead of Copenhagen, but insists it will never accept legally binding emissions targets.
Ramesh said Chinese climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua would soon hand over a more acceptable negotiating draft to Denmark, adding that India stood firm with China, South Africa and Brazil "as far as negotiations are concerned".
Climate envoys from the four developing countries met in Beijing over the weekend, reiterating their position that developed countries must shoulder most carbon emissions cuts.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last week that India would "sign on to an ambitious global target for emissions reductions" if rich countries paid more to fund mitigation efforts in the poorer world.
But his office later clarified the statement to say India's position had not changed.
The December 7-18 Copenhagen negotiations are aimed at drafting a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.