| I attended a meeting organized by Aspen International on Friday, 8th January where Minister of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh gave details of how the Copenhagen Accord was negotiated, the role of the BASIC group in negotiations and the domestic action needed in India. | |||
| Minister Ramesh enumerated the three contentious issues that cropped up in negotiations between the US and BASIC group of countries and explained how and in whose favor they were resolved. 1. Setting of a global goal for 2050. The options ranged from setting a limit in the increase in temperature, a percentage reduction in emissions and bringing down the atmospheric concentration of CO2 of 350 parts per million. Minister Ramesh said that the BASIC group prevailed over the Americans and the Europeans by setting the goal of limiting an increase in temperature to 2 degrees Celsius. |