India sends emission cut plan to UN,leaves out farm sector

In keeping with the promise it had made ahead of the Copenhagen climate change conference in December,India has informed the UNFCCC that it will endeavour to reduce its emissions intensity,or the amount of gases that are emitted in producing one unit of GDP,by about 20-25 per cent by the year 2020 in comparison to 2005. New Delhi has stressed this target was purely voluntary in nature and could not be made legally binding.

In an important exclusion,India has also clarified that emissions from agriculture would be exempt from being calculated to assess the countrys emissions intensity. As such,the target taken by India would not apply to the agriculture sector.

The Copenhagen Accord the outcome of the climate conference in the Danish capital in December required all countries to inform the UNFCCC about the actions they intended to take to reduce emissions by January 31.

Like India,all the other countries who have sent in their formal communication to the UNFCCC have stuck to their promises made ahead of the Copenhagen conference.

The US has committed itself to a 17 per cent reduction in its emissions by 2020 from 2005 levels. It has said it would increase its commitment if a pending domestic legislation on climate was passed by its Senate. The EU has offered to reduce its reductions by 20 per cent by 2020 from 1990 levels. It said it will take on a 30 per cent reduction if other major countries also make similar ambitious cuts.

China,which like India announced reductions in its emissions intensity,has also committed itself to the 40-45 per cent cuts in emissions intensity by 2020 on 2005 levels. Like India,China has also made it clear that these reductions would be made through domestic actions that could not be made legally binding on it.

Significantly,both India and China have specified that their actions would be in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention (UNFCCC) while the US and the EU have referred to the Copenhagen Accord in their letters.

India,China and the rest of the developing world do not see the Copenhagen Accord as a stand-alone document but one that serves only as an input in the overall process of climate negotiations under the UNFCCC process.

According to latest information,countries accounting for nearly 80 per cent of worlds total greenhouse gas emissions had either sent in their formal communication to the UNFCCC or had expressed their desire to do so.

UNFCCC executive secretary Yvo de Boer has already spoken about January 31 being only a soft deadline,meaning countries which have not already done so,still have the opportunity to associate themselves with the Copenhagen Accord.