DURBAN, Dec 6 � After China showed its willingness to agree to legally binding emission cuts, India too indicated today that it was �open� to all ideas at the climate talks but wanted more reassurances from the developed world before taking any further commitments, reports PTI.
Following China�s announcement that it is willing to take conditional legally binding commitments after 2020, Durban is abuzz with talks of which direction would India take on the contentious issue that has stalled any progress in climate combating measures.
As the high-level segment of the climate change talks kick off, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan stressed that she is looking for more reassurances from the developed world.
Natarajan also maintained there was no change in the position of the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China), group which forms the alliance of emerging economies.
�I have come to Durban with an open mind,� Natarajan said in response to the demand for a new legally-binding treaty being raised here by the European Union, Japan and other parties.
�But I would like to know whether it would be binding only for mitigation and whether it will be same for Annex-1 (developed) and non-Annex 1 countries (developing),� she added.
After joining the talks this week, Natarajan met top negotiators from the US, European Union and the BASIC alliance.
�We are very optimistic that we will understand each others� positions,� she said.
Developments over the past week, however, indicate deep divisions between developed and developing nations that are yet to be bridged.
After losing out in last year�s talks in Cancun, the Indian delegation insisted that negotiators here revisit its three-point agenda, which was submitted in the first week of the climate talks.
The agenda includes � equitable sharing of atmospheric carbon space, technology sharing and intellectual property rights (IPR) and unilateral trade barriers.
�Commitment for finance and technology, whether it will be present or not, how will equity figure in such an agreement, how will IPR be handled,� Natarajan asked here.
Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, 37 developed countries have been placed under international legal obligations to reduce carbon emissions during a first commitment period, which expires next year.
