Govt to announce carbon emission targets today

Ahead of the global climate talks at Copenhagen, the Government will announce its position on the climate change on Thursday in the Lok Sabha to take the members of the House into confidence over the critical issue. India is under immense pressure from the US and China after both the countries recently quantified their targets on carbon emissions. While China has announced to cut the carbon intensity in the range of 40 to 45 per cent, the US has pledged to reduce emissions by 17 per cent. In this background, India might be compelled to announce its decision regarding carbon emissions at the Copenhagen conference which starts from December 7 though it is not likely to quantify the targets given that its National Action Plan on Climate Change is yet to be firmed up. A special discussion has been scheduled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday where Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh will spell out various steps, including the legislative, that the government is taking to tackle the climate change. India is the world's fifth highest emitter of greenhouse gases. New Delhi has, however, already made it clear that it will, at no cost, take any binding emission cuts as envisaged in the UN Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) keeping the need of its millions of people living Below the Poverty Line.