The hue and cry over India signing the declaration of the Major Economies Forum on climate change in Italy this month has thrown up conflicting views on the subject. The ensuing debate has served to confuse, rather than clarify India's position on the issue. Signatories to the MEF declaration are in agreement that the rise in global temperature ought not to exceed 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels by the year 2050. It's a pious statement of intent, no more, no less. By signing the declaration, India has not compromised its negotiating position; on the contrary, it has made known its intent to cooperate to the fullest extent possible - keeping in view the principles of equity and historical responsibility -- in the global endeavour to face the challenge of human activity-accelerated climate change.

The MEF declaration is one of intent; it is not a binding document that has been formulated to take up from where the 1997 Kyoto Protocol - that lays down binding emissions norms for developed countries -- would leave off when the Protocol expires in 2012. A post Kyoto Protocol agreement will be drawn up at Copenhagen in December this year when all 192 countries who are signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will discuss the issue before finalizing an agreement. There is absolutely no reason to cry foul when all India has done is to do what any reasonable, environment-friendly people would do - that is, concur on the point that indeed, together, we do need to make the effort to keep the global temperature from surging out of control. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not "submitted" to emissions cutting targets or curbing growth within a given timeframe. So why get all worked up?

True, none of the MEF countries have committed themselves to specifics - in the MEF declaration - of either funding clean development and technology transfer to developing countries nor by how much and by when they would cut back their own polluting emissions. If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's projection is taken into account, the developed world must curb its emissions so that they peak by 2015 in order to limit the rise in temperature to 2 degrees. But then, neither has India gone into specifics -- this is not an official UN declaration but is an aspirational promise on paper, concurring on the urgency of having to deal with a warming planet. And hasn't the prime minister made it clear that India's per capita emissions will never overtake that of the developed countries?

It's no secret that India's per capita carbon dioxide emissions are among the lowest in the world at 1.2 tonnes, making up just 4.6 per cent of the global share of CO2 emissions. We've gone to town, screaming ourselves hoarse that India will not, repeat, will not agree to mandatory quantified emissions cuts target in the short term because not only is our per capita emissions low - 20 times lower that that of the US and Canada individually -- we have a record of comparatively sustainable development practices. India's penchant for recycling and conservation is too well known to brook any argument to the contrary. A few in urban India might have adopted throwaway habits - this is most evident in the way some of us, still a minority, use and throw polycarbonate water bottles and polythene bags - but most of India is still rooted in a lifestyle that revolves around conservation, recycling, and resource-sharing.

Official India's promotion of energy efficiency has probably no parallel anywhere in the world except maybe in California where the state's Energy Commission has been trying hard to reduce energy wastage. Critics would argue that in India, we lose a great deal of electricity in transmission and distribution - if electricity is supplied at all. Indeed, India is not without faults. There are many who have no access to electricity, who have difficulty sourcing safe drinking water, who have little access to wholesome food. Yet, considering the scale and diversity of India's development needs  -- the geography, the demographics, the spread, the constraints - there is a lot of work being done in the area of renewable energy, energy efficiency, increasing of forest cover and ecological conservation. There is a lot to be done by way of cleaning up rivers and other water bodies, reducing dependence on dirty coal for power plants, and cultivating a strong civic sense that will improve general hygiene and sanitation. Despite these unresolved challenges, and in fact because of them, India cannot be penalized for getting on the development track at a time when the omissions and commissions of the developed world have come home to roost.

India has clarified its position on climate change at all the major climate change forums held in the recent past: that India is not in a position to undertake emissions reduction targets because it is very nearly at the bottom when compared to most other countries, and more importantly, India's priority is poverty alleviation and ensuring food security and healthcare. No one can dismiss these goals as being unimportant and still claim to be reasonable and equitable.

A World Bank study has described India as a low carbon economy. That is not an excuse, however, to remain complacent and do nothing. Which is why we have a National Action Plan on Climate Change in place, and it is hoped that in good time, India will demonstrate its green quotient, as well as continue its growth trajectory as a low carbon economy.