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U.S. concern on climate change deal not warranted: Sibal

NEW DELHI: India has criticised the U.S. for voicing concerns over the provisions of the deal fixing a 2009 deadline for signing a new treaty to tackle global warming.

Science and Technology Minister and leader of the Indian delegation to the Bali conference on climate change, Kapil Sibal, made this known to The Hindu.

He said the U.S. statement made just hours after the deal was struck was “not warranted” as it was an international consensus and the U.S. was very much a part of it. “They had expressed happiness with the consensus. Now, how can they go back and express concerns? It is an international consensus and they were very much a part of it. If at all, it is for the developing countries to be concerned over the situation as the levels of greenhouse gases have increased as a result of inadequate action by the developed countries.”

On Saturday, 190 countries, including the U.S., had agreed on a road map for the fight against climate change post 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol is due to expire. Agency reports from Bali said the U.S. has voiced “serious concerns” over some provisions of the deal and complained that it did not do enough to commit countries such as India and China to big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

The reports mentioned that the White House had stated that future talks must acknowledge that developed nations could not tackle climate change on their own and that major emerging economies had to be drawn in.

The deal, Mr. Sibal said, was welcome as it has set out a clear and unambiguous road map for 2009 and beyond, with both the developed and developing worlds having their obligations.

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