India Opens the Door to "Deviation from Business as Usual", with support from developed nations

Just a day after Indian Premier Manmohan Singh said the country could commit to emissions cuts with strings attached, the chief Indian climate negotiator has cast doubt on that possibility, confirming only that India would be open to "Deviation from Business as Usual".

"There cannot be any emission cuts," said Saran, adding that the developed world did not expect countries like India to adopt emission reduction targets but instead to accept "deviation from business as usual."

India is currently the fourth-leading country in terms of co2 emissions, at 1.5 billion tons of co2 equivalent emissions per year as of 2006, putting it just behind Russia. China and the U.S. were at 6.1 and 5.5 billion tons respectively.

In terms of per capita emissions, however, India's 1.29 tons per person puts it at the bottom of the list. China's per capita emissions in '06 were at 4.57 tons per person, just over the worldwide average and the U.S.'s per capita emissions were at 18.68 tons per person, the highest in the world, with the exceptions of Kuwait, Qater and the U.A.R.