New Delhi: After playing a proactive role in the recent Lima climate talks in Peru, India Saturday said it hopes a new global agreement would be drafted this year at the Paris climate conference containing a complete plan for pre- 2020 actions for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The UN climate conference, to be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11 of this year, is tasked with finalising a global agreement designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are very positive about the Paris conference. We want it to come up with a good outcome which will help earth to mitigate the challenges posed by climate change and can keep the temperatures below the 2-degree threshold," Environment Minister Prakash Javadaker told reporters at the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) here.
Noting that India and other countries need 'carbon space' for development, he said, "To that end, we are now negotiating with all countries and we will be doing it more vigorously this year because I'm very sure that the 2015 Paris agreement will have a complete plan for pre-2020 actions also."
The pre-2020 emission cuts to be carried out by the developed world is an integral part of the new architecture of the UN climate conference.
"You will leave no carbon space for development of India and many other developing countries. So, we have demanded that we must get the carbon space," he added.
Javadekar said India had made it clear at the Lima summit last month that "all major issues" on emission cuts should be discussed "separately" during the year so that the Paris talks are not "stalled".
"We suggested that all actions should be on IND (intended naturally determined) basis. So, you don't make an international review of it. They agreed to a synthesis report," he said.
Asked if India will be able to address key concerns with developed nations before the Paris summit, the minister said that the main issue is about financing clean technology in the developing world.
"We have told all countries that every nation should take actions and adopt sustainable practices. It is not that we will continue with the 20 year-old debate. Every nation has to take actions and creat an atmosphere for this. The technology finance issue is all about this," he said.
Asserting that the Lima summit was a step forward in climate talks, Javadekar said, "India this time was proactive and positive in putting new ideas on the table."
India is emphasising two things -- that clean energy technology must come for free and there should not be any intellectual property rights (IPR) or royalty costs, he said, adding that many countries had supported the idea.
"Let's do joint collaborative research free of IPR and people will adopt cleaner technology sooner rather than later. Every new technology has more costs. 30 per cent of my people are not getting real access to energy. You are asking them to pay higher costs. You have taken benefits for hundreds of years. Now, you want the poor to pay," he said.
He also said that India had suggested the need for having "differential responsibility" for countries to reduce emissions on the basis of two parameters -- 'historical responsibility' and 'status of development'.
"The developed world cannot do away with its historical responsibility. So, they have to do more and provide finance and technology," he said, adding that India won the Lima round with its actions, which were put forward more effectively.
India has kept a solar power target of one lakh mega watts in the next five years, which is a huge jump from the 20,000- mega watt target set earlier.
"We have jumped five-fold. One lakh mega watt solar power means 145 million tonnes of carbon emissions saved per year. It is a huge contribution for India," Javadekar said, adding that the country has also set aside afforestation funds of USD 6 billion and doubled the cess on coal to Rs 100 per tonne.
