In the first visit by a minister of the UPA-II regime to China,Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh along with a team from the Ministry is set for a three-day visit to the country to try and reach an understanding on climate change ahead of the Copenhagen summit. The visit which comes close on the heels of China and the USA signing a memorandum of understanding on climate change,has on its agenda the dialogue on respective positions on climate change,signing of an agreement between Indian and Chinese technical institutes to study the impact of climate change on Himalayan glaciers,and discussing illegal tiger and leopard poaching trade. India and China are two of the most significant voices from the developing world as major economies head to a crucial international climate change summit in Copenhagen in December this year. The memorandum of understanding on climate change signed between China and the US was seen by many including some members of the Prime Ministers Advisory Council on Climate Change as a potential division in the position of the developing world. Indias consistent view on climate change mitigation is that it will not take any binding emission cuts like those taken by Annexe I (developed countries) and the position also demands financial and technological help from the developed world. However,countries like the US as well as the United Nations have been urging India and China to do more on climate change,which also includes taking emission cuts and it will be in Indias interests to get other developing countriesnotably Chinaon board. Ramesh will be accompanied by the Secretary,MoEF,and a senior MoEF official dealing with climate change,all part of the same delegation who will visit Copenhagen later this year. Meanwhile,in what is possibly one of the first ministerial communications on illegal tiger trade to China,the team will also raise the issue of tiger poaching and Chinese demand for poached goods. A recent report by international NGO Traffic on tiger parts trade has found that tiger trade in China is still flourishing and that Indian wild tigers are catering to a large portion of the demand.
