Visit by Hillary Clinton Highlights India-U.S. Split on Climate

A top Indian official bluntly told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that there is “simply no case” for the U.S. and the West to push India to agree to a cap on carbon dioxide emissions, especially considering that India has among the lowest per capita emissions worldwide. Visiting an energy-efficient office building with Clinton, India’s environment and forests minister, Jairam Ramesh, added that, “If this pressure is not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours.” He was referring to an energy and climate bill, recently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, that would impose import tariffs on goods from countries that do not put a price on carbon emissions. Clinton assured Ramesh that the U.S. “will not do anything that would limit India’s economic progress.” But she argued that, given India’s rapidly growing population and rising standards of living, per capita emissions are not a fair measure of climate impact. To some degree, the public debate is posturing before climate talks later this year in Copenhagen; Ramesh said that while India will not agree to emissions reduction targets, “it is possible for us to narrow our positions.”