Climate Change MEPs: mostly "positive messages" from Delhi - Main contents

A delegation from the EP's Temporary Committee on Climate Change i, visiting New Delhi on 4-5 February, has welcomed India's readiness to be part of an international climate agreement. However, noted the Committee Chair, the Indian government is not prepared to accept any binding emissions targets.

Committee Chairman Guido Sacconi (PES, IT) made the following statement on the delegation's conclusions:

"From our meetings and discussions in New Delhi, we have understood that awareness of the impact and the effects of climate change is taking root in India. This is made clear, for instance, by the government's creation of the Prime Minister Council's on Climate Policy, which will put forward a medium-to-long term plan on climate change. At the same time, our hosts also made it clear that, for India, the first priority is growth and the fight against poverty. They also indicated their readiness to be part of an international climate agreement, and stressed the paramount importance of technology cooperation and technology transfer. These are certainly extremely positive messages. The critical issue remains, however, that, at this stage, India is not prepared, given its per capita emissions, to accept any binding emissions targets."

Forging alliances for action on climate change

The delegation is the second - after China in November 2007 - that the Committee has sent to a non-EU country with the aim of developing contacts between parliamentarians and forging strong alliances to address climate change. During their visit to India, the MEPs met - among others - T. K. A. Nair, Principle Secretary to the Prime Minister and Member of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Policy, Members of the Indian Parliament and Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri, Director of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Climate Change Committee delegation will now travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where, led by Romana Jordan Cizelj (EPP-ED, SI), it will have meetings with civil society, national and local representatives - and visit the district of Sirajganj, an area heavily affected by coastal flooding.

The full list of members of the delegation in India is as follows:

Guido Sacconi (PES, IT)

Romana Jordan Cizelj (EPP-ED, SI)

Jerzy Buzek (EPP-ED, PL)

Neena Gill (PES, UK)

Cristina Gutiérrez Cortines (EPP-ED, ES)

Anneli Jäätteenmäki (ALDE, FI)

Péter Olajos (EPP-ED, HU)

María Sornosa Martínez (PES, ES)

Andres Tarand (PES, EE)

04/02/2008

Temporary Committee on Climate Change

In the chair : Guido Sacconi (PES, IT)

Delegation of the Temporary Committee on Climate Change to India and Bangladesh