India has no expectations from Copenhagen summit

New Delhi: The Indian minister for environment has reiterated that there was no possibility of reaching a climate change treaty at the Copenhagen summit, suggesting it was going to be a ''long haul'' before nations made a ''meaningful'' commitment. 

''You should not have too much expectations from Copenhagen summit. The mandate to negotiate will get renewed. It seems there is a long haul before we arrive at a meaningful international commitment,'' minister Jairam Ramesh said.

On the issue of legally binding emission limits, Ramesh said the government was ''prepared to be alone'' in its rejection.

Expanding on the matter, Ramesh said that there was a need to ''distinguish international commitments from the domestic action''.

He said there was a need to recognise that ''climate change was essentially a domestic issue,'' and that there was a need to be ''aggressive, progressive and ruthless'' in undertaking domestic measures to limit emissions.

''India's position would be strengthened internationally if we are aggressive at home. While we must be proactive in our domestic measures, India will never agree to targets,'' he said.