Indias key negotiator makes his voice heard against rich countries

When Falkenberg tried to make the point that the rich countries alone would not be able to successfully deal with the climate change and that developing countries also need to contribute their efforts,Dasgupta quickly said that the question was not whether developing countries should also contribute in reducing emissions but whether the rich countries were ready to pay for the efforts as was legally expected of them.

On another occasion,when Falkenberg suggested that the domestic actions of the developing countries be put to international scrutiny,Dasgupta reminded that this was a violation of the Bali Action Plan. Dasgupta then went on to elaborate on the right of every individual to an equal atmospheric space and said it was this right that the rich countries were trying to deny to the poorer populations of Asia and Africa.

There cannot be an international treaty which creates a group of haves and have-nots, Dasgupta said,strongly enunciating Indias long-held positions on the issue.

Dasgupta was ably backed by his Chinese counterpart Qingtai Yu,who supported him on every word in yet another demonstration of how India and China have been closely coordinating with each other.