Copenhagen accord betrayal of poor nations: Jaitley
The government was in a ''Sharm-el-Sheikh syndrome'' as far as the climate change accord in Copenhagen was concerned, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday while labelling the document a ''betrayal of poor nations''.
The accord says one thing and the government's understanding is another, Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha, following a statement by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on the Copenhagen climate summit, while referring to the controversial Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement signed by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan in Egypt earlier this year.
The government has been "outwitted" in the drafting of the document, Jaitley said while labelling it a "US-BASIC" accord, rather than an accord among all 192 nations attending the summit. The BASIC countries are Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
"It (the accord) appears to be a complete betrayal of the poor nations," he added.
He also asked the government to clarify "what will be the consequences under the guidelines (of the accord)".
