New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) The Unites States has indicated that it will not be signatory to any treaty in Copenhagen, before it gets approval from the Senate.
This was indicated by US Energy Secretary Steven Chu during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology here Friday.

“We do not want to repeat the historical mistake,” Chu said, referring to the Kyoto Protocol. The US is the only rich country which has not ratified it.

Chu said that the US administration was “pushing” for a bill on energy efficiency in the Senate, which if approved, will pave way for his country signing a protocol at the climate summit at Copenhagen next month.

He said that the issue of climate change was a matter of collective responsibility. “Developing countries can’t say that climate change is not our problem,” he said.

The senior US official, who is a also a Nobel Laureate for physics in 1997, said that “in the future” developing countries will have more carbon emissions, therefore they also have to take up “responsibility”.

“It has to be a collaborative effort. We have to find ways how we can help each other in the future,” said Chu.

Making an emotional appeal, he said: “Climate Change is not about today, not about us. It’s about our grandchildren.”

The world-renowned physicist said that it was “universal” in all cultures for parents to want a better future for their children.

He felt that there was more awareness amongst world leaders about the importance of tackling climate change. “Perception about climate change has changed a lot,” he said, adding that he met the Chinese premier two months ago, who was concerned about the issue.

This was apparently a contrast from two years ago, when the Chinese leader had refused to acknowledge that there was any climate change.

Chu will be travelling to China after completing his India trip Saturday, as part of a push to get the two Asian giants to come closer to the US position before the Copenhagen conference.

India has always said that there should be common but differentiated responsibility for tackling climate change. It points to the historical responsibility of rich nations for polluting the planet and has demanded for more funds and clean technologies from them.

The US energy secretary said that he is meeting Indian ministers to talk about ways to collaborate on clean energy technology.

He met Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Friday morning, where they identified three areas for cooperation — clean coal technologies, smart grids and energy efficiency.

“They also discussed ways to accelerate the adoption of clean and efficient coal energy technology in India, in view of the large scale growth in infrastructure in India over the next few decades,” said an Indian government press release.

It was agreed that the two sides would work towards the creation of a joint mechanism to promote research and development of clean and efficient technologies, it added.