Climate talks: India against amending Kyoto Protocol Buzz Up Share
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Betwa Sharma Copenhagen, Dec 13 (PTI) India today made it clear that it was opposed to any amendment of the Kyoto Protocol that prescribes mandatory emission cuts on developed countries as the 12-day climate talks headed into the second week where environment ministers would seek to give a political push to the negotiations which were in disarray. Informal talks among the environment ministers on the draft deal, criticised by rich nations and emerging economies, continued over the weekend with the hope that they could agree on a text that could be put before the heads of state and government assembling for the plenary here later next week.

"There are articles bracketing the Annex 1 and non-Annex countries and allows Annex 1 (developed nations) to abandon Kyoto, which is not the right message to give at this point of time," India''s Environment Secretary Vijay Sharma said. The highlight of the past week was an attempt by tiny Pacific Island nation Tuvalu to stall the negotiations by staging a walkout as the chair of the conference refused to take up its proposal for limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial years.

However, Danish Minister Connie Hedegaard, chairing the talks, insisted that procedural advances in the first six days had been "fantastic." "The core discussions.

have really started," she said adding the the delegates "still have a daunting task in front of us over the next few days." .