Elephant in the Negotiations

Some statements from India today are not really new views but worth noting as they make stepping back at Copenhagen all the more difficult and thus unlikely. The BBC reports on a statement by Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh clarifying reports that he had suggested in a leaked memo that India was perhaps willing to compromise a bit on its demands at Copenhagen (thanks DB). Apparently, this is not the case:

Internationally legally binding [greenhouse gas] reduction targets are for developed countries and developed countries alone, as globally agreed under the [2007] Bali action plan

UPDATE: The folks at CAP are a bit behind on India's position, saying today the opposite of Ramesh's latest pronouncements:

Ramesh appears to be leaning toward a structure that would commit India to binding its domestic actions to an international agreement and subjecting those actions to international scrutiny.

Not really.

And Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh restates what I am beginning to call an iron law of climate policy:

Developing countries cannot and will not compromise on development.

However I don't think that it is just developing countries that will not compromise on development. India is but one part of the equation that will lead to the can being kicked down the road at Copenhagen. More tea leaves read here.