India for aggressive cuts in emissions: Jairam

India is planning aggressive cuts in emissions in a time-bound manner.

India is planning aggressive cuts in emissions in a time-bound manner but the country will not compromise on its target to achieve eight per cent economic growth a year,Indian environment minister Jairam Ramesh has said.

“India is going to aggressively take on voluntary mitigation outcomes and we are now going to go for domestic legislation which will enshrine some targets,” Ramesh said.

The target includes,a mandatory fuel efficiency cap which will come into place in 2011,an energy efficient building code which will come into effect in 2012 and an increase in electricity produced from renewable sources to 20 per cent by 2020.

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“What India is going to do is to set a target date which is 2020 and introduce a quantitative outcome which is an implicit mitigation target — not explicit target. We will enshrine that into law so that there is a degree of credibility,” the minister told The Guardian.

Ramesh,however,said India will not compromise on its ambitions of achieving eight per cent economic growth a year.

The climate change plans could also fall hostage to India’s political scene,where there are sensitivities at being seen to be giving in to pressure from the developed world,the Guardian report said.

According to the report,India and China appeared poised for bold new action on climate change ahead of today’s UN summit,in moves that will significantly increase pressure on President Barack Obama to deliver cuts in US emissions.