Amidst talks of differences in the G-77--the group of developing countries--over demands from small island-nations on proposals of climate-change, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao telephoned Thursday his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh to exchange views on the Copenhagen summit.
An official communication from the Indian Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in New Delhi that during the 10-minute telephonic conference, the two leaders exchanged views on the ongoing Copenhagen Climate-Change Conference, and discussed ways to take the talks forward.
Singh and Jiabao agreed that the two sides would keep in touch in the run-up to this important conference, it said, adding they also discussed bilateral issues.
Meanwhile, a proposal by the tiny Pacific island-country of Tuvalu for the creation of a new protocol--like that of Kyoto--to meet the demands of small island-states that want the global rise in temperatures to be limited to within 1.5-degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels, against the 2 degrees that most countries prefer, took the G-77 nations by surprise.
India, China and some countries collectively opposed it, arguing that the talk of a new protocol was not a part of the Bali Action Plan and, at this time, would only benefit the rich and industrialized countries who would try to exploit differences among developing countries.
Following the opposition, Tuvalu moved an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, asking for legally-binding emission cuts from major developing economies as well.
It was again opposed by many developing countries, forcing a suspension of the meeting for the second consecutive day. The matter is likely to be referred Friday to informal groups for discussion.
The UN climate summit opened Monday in the Danish capital of Copenhagen to evolve a successor to the Kyoto protocol, expiring in 2012, on finding a possible solution to global- warming.
Brazil, South Africa, India, and China (BASIC) have proposed a draft countering the Danish draft, put forward by the host country which virtually seeks to remove the distinction between developed and developing nations. The group has tabled the BASIC draft in Copenhagen for discussion.
Wednesday, both India and China led the developing countries in rejecting a leaked Danish proposal, indicating to the United Nations Climate Conference that no deal was better than a bad deal.
Ahead of the Copenhagen summit, China announced a 40-45 per cent cut in its carbon-emission intensity by 2020, and India soon announced a 20-25 per cent carbon-intensity cut by 2020.
Singh and Wen will attend the Copenhagen summit on the last two days.
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