“I can assure you we are not taking on any legally binding commitments under international duress. We should take on commitments only because it is in our interest,” he said at a CII function in New Delhi on Saturday.
At the same time, he said, “What may reflect internationally will be dependent on what other countries are prepared to give as far as their commitments are concerned”.
Asserting that India should negotiate from its position of strength and take a leadership role, Ramesh said the international community should rather focus on their own carbon emission levels instead of lecturing countries like India which is “moving along low carbon growth path”.
“When India goes for negotiations, I have three objectives in mind. The first is to maintain the autonomy of the economic growth trajectory…to protect the autonomy of 9 percent growth path, to enhance our own environmental agenda like green growth, less pollutions and lastly re-position India diplomatically as a constructive problem solver,” he said addressing captains of Indian industry.
He said that in line with its own strategic interest, India has to take the developing world on board on the issue and at the same time engage developed world.
“We are the bridge player in many of these cases. So it is a fine balancing act”, he said.
Later talking to reporters, he regretted that the funds pledged to the Fast Start Finance Fund to the tune of USD 25 billion to combat carbon emission have only remained on paper.
The fund was meant for Africa and other least developed countries and the island nations with countries like India voluntarily giving up their claim to it, he said, adding the long term green fund of UDS 100 billion also proved to be a non-starter.
“We are back to square one. I don’t know where the climate talks are headed right now,” he said.
To the corporate sector, he suggested the need to take on environmental issue “far more seriously” than it has in the past as it is related to public health and climate change.
The issue has to be embedded into the thinking process and “intrinsic” to business and growth process, he said.