Secretary Clinton and Environmental Minister Ramesh Seek Common Ground
Secretary Clinton looks at wheat samples at the Indian Council for Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) (State Dept. Photo)
…the clash between developed and developing countries over climate change intruded on the high-profile photo opportunity midway through Clinton’s three-day tour of India. Indian Environmental Minister Jairam Ramesh complained about U.S. pressure to cut a worldwide deal and Clinton countered that the Obama administration’s push for a binding agreement would not sacrifice India’s economic growth.
[snip]
Before the visit, U.S. officials were acutely aware that the Indian government has faced criticism at home for making what they considered relatively modest concessions on reducing greenhouse emissions earlier this month at a meeting of major economies. A leaked e-mail from former Indian negotiator Surya Sethi to other negotiators — in which he asserted the decision would make India poorer — generated a firestorm here.
Clinton was prepared to argue that countering climate change could actually lift India’s economy, not undermine it. U.S. officials also believe, as one put it, that “developing countries are willing to do more than they are willing to agree to.”
[snip]
The tone of the nearly one-hour meeting appeared to become less strained as Clinton acknowledged some of Ramesh’s points and repeatedly stressed the United States was not trying to limit India’s growth.
‘We want an international agreement,” Ramesh said, but whether one can be reached at a major climate summit scheduled for December in Copenhagen will depend on being creative, leveraging international technology and especially “international capital is going to be key.”
Clinton emerged from the session to declare the discussion was “very fruitful” and she saw the potential for narrowing differences between the two countries on the contentious issue. “We have many more areas of agreement than perhaps had been appreciated,” she told reporters.
The media is generally trying to play this off as a huge clash of the titans (because they like that), but in fact, given that for the last eight years of Republican rule where the pollution and energy lobby essentially got to create our environmental policy, it seems a bit unrealistic to think that India and the US would end up at the altar in New Delhi, both saying “I do” for an environmental marriage of sorts on this initial trip to India. Secretary Clinton made headway and maybe we should think of it as a good first date with a promise for a second one…
