India follows China with Copenhagen concessions

The Indian government has announced plans to report annually to the UN on its progress curbing greenhouse emissions as part of any international climate change deal agreed at the forthcoming Copenhagen summit in December.

The proposal represents the latest in a series of moves from emerging economies designed to demonstrate to richer nations that they are willing to take quantifiable measures to tackle carbon emissions as part of any deal in return for ambitious commitments from industrialised countries. It also follow's China's commitment earlier this week to set a target to substantially reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 2020.

Indian environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, outlined the proposals today for a "annual communication" that would see the country formally report to the UN on progress against its domestic climate change iniatives.

The country has already announced a number of low carbon commitments, including increasing forestation, improving energy effiency and generating a fifth of India's electricity from renewable source by 2020, and Ramesh said the annual report would help to ensure those initiatives prove a success.

"An annual communication to the UN will say what we are doing, what the results are, how is it being implemented, the impact," Ramesh todl the Guardian. "We want to be transparent to the international community but domestically accountable to our voters."

However, he also warned that it may now be too late to finalise a successor to the Kyoto Treaty at December's Copenhagen meeting and as a result a second summit may be required next year.

"We may have to come back to Copenhagen six months later," he said. "No harm done. I am saying: let's clinch agreement on those issues where there is consensus such as forestry, technological co-operation and finance for the poorest nations. Let's not make these hostage to the idea that unless we have emission cuts we have nothing. Let's instead start moving."