The government said it was willing to rein in its “carbon intensity” — the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted per unit of economic output — by between 20 and 25 percent by 2020, from 2005 levels.
“India can’t be like a frog in the well, India has to show leadership to its own people — we need to show action,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told parliament, laying out India’s position ahead of the Dec. 7-18 summit in Denmark.
Such a goal will let India’s emissions keep rising. Ramesh said India, the fourth biggest greenhouse gas emitter, would not set a peak year for its emissions, or accept absolute cuts.
The unilateral announcement contrasted with a harder line on Wednesday when diplomats said India, China, Brazil and South Africa opposed the setting of goals advocated by the Danish hosts, including a halving of world emissions by 2050.
The big emerging economies have often insisted that rich nations have caused global warming by spewing out greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution, and want to see deep cuts by these rich nations before joining the effort.
