New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) With barely a month left for the start of the climate change conference at Copenhagen, the United States Friday indicated that it will not initial any treaty there, until it gets approval from the Senate.
“We do not want to repeat the historical mistake,” US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, referring to the fate of the Kyoto Protocol. The US is the only country which has signed it, but not ratified it.

Chu was speaking at an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology where he asserted that the US administration was “pushing” for a bill on energy efficiency in the Senate. If approved, it will pave the way for his country signing a protocol at the climate summit at Copenhagen next month. The conference will be held Dec 7-18.

Chu said 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 got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997, said that “in the future” developing countries will have more carbon emissions, and 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 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 two months ago he met the Chinese premier 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 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.

In a statement released by US department of energy, Chu said: “Promoting clean energy and addressing climate change are central to President Obama’s policy agenda as well as the United States’ bilateral relationship with India”.

“Committing to clean energy won’t inhibit India’s economic development - it will help create new jobs, new industries and greater prosperity for India’s people,” he added.

Chu said that the US seeks India as a “technology partner” - “because we can accomplish more working together than working alone”.

The senior US official is accompanied by Indian-American Arun Majumdar, who is in charge of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which pursues projects like converting sunlight to fuel and new carbon capture technologies.

Chu 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.