Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) Even as the climate change talks at Cancun are stuck over issues between industrialised and developing countries, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday said equity was the key to the negotiations.

India hosted an event on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference at Cancun, where the critical issue of equity and equitable access to carbon space was emphasised.

“Equitable access to sustainable development will be the core of and foundation for any climate change agreement. The phrase equitable access is not the right to pollute, but the right to sustainable development,” Ramesh said in a statement from Cancun.

The talks at Cancun were stuck with developing countries not ready to give up to the demand of developed world to open their domestic climate change mitigation measures for international scrutiny unless the latter commit to fast-track funding.

Ramesh said developing countries have an imperative to develop rapidly and therefore cannot take on commitments that would impede their development.

Pointing that the developed countries are responsible for more than 65 percent of total carbon stock in the atmosphere, T. Jayaraman from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) said industrialised countries need to cut emissions immediately and sharply.

“They should compensate developing countries through finance and technology transfer for their deficit in carbon space,” said Jayaraman.

The climate change talks are being held Nov 28-Dec 18 at Cancun.