Indian PM admits climate talks a letdown

Manmohan Singh: 'Limited progress was made at Copenhagen summit and no one was satisfied with the outcome.'

By Agence France-Presse

Mon, Jan 04 2010 at 6:45 AM EST

Read more: CARBON, COPENHAGEN CLIMATE TALKS, EMISSIONS

COPENHAGEN: The Indian prime minister, working with China and other emerging nations, said emissions caps would hinder their growth. (Photo: ZUMA Press)

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who successfully fought against binding caps on emissions at the Copenhagen climate talks, admitted that all parties involved were unhappy with the results.

Singh told a science conference in the city of Thiruvananthapuram that world leaders "were able to make only limited progress at the Copenhagen summit and no one was satisfied with the outcome."

"There is no escaping the truth that the nations of the world have to move to a low greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficient development path," he said.

At last month's talks, India and other emerging nations such as China thwarted plans for legally binding emissions caps, arguing the importance of maintaining rapid economic growth.

India insists that developed countries, blamed for most global warming thus far, should bear the burden of mitigating its future effects.

India's per capita emissions are among the lowest globally as much of the country is without power, but in volume terms it is still among the top five carbon emitters.

At Copenhagen, a total of $30 billion was pledged from 2010-2012 to help poor countries in the firing line of climate change. Rich nations also sketched out a target of providing $100 billion annually by 2020.

The deal set the aim of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), but set no binding targets to reduce emissions of gases that scientists say are heating the world's atmosphere to dangerous levels.

Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has welcomed the lack of binding measures and praised the united front presented by major emerging countries.

A diplomatic battle erupted over the summit's final agreement, which has been widely panned for its failure to oblige countries to implement emissions reductions.