New Delhi (Platts)--2Dec2009/553 am EST/1053 GMT

India and other developing countries have no carbon emission reduction obligations and will take voluntary actions only according to the financial and technological support they get from developed nations, Indian environment minister Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday.

"Voluntary actions of developing nations will be subject to international monitoring, report and verification as per agreed procedures to the extent that these actions receive international support," he told parliament in a written reply, restating India's long-held position.

International climate negotiators meet in Copenhagen on Monday for a two week summit intended to produce a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which is the only international treaty on curbing carbon emissions but which expires in 2012.

But rich and poor nations are far apart on what actions they should take to reduce their climate changing carbon emissions and the size of the bill, with developing nations calling for hundreds of billions of dollars each year from the rich world but developed nations only talking around a possible 10 billion dollars.

Developing countries point to the fact that as they didn't cause the climate problem in the first place they should bear no obligation for its solution.

While developed countries accept for the most part that they should lead by example in curbing their emissions and fund many of the actions to be taken by developing nations, they also insist that major emerging economies like India and

China should commit to cutting their emissions substantially from the business as usual path. China has offered to voluntarily reduce the carbon intensity of its economy, but India refuses to take on any commitments.

India says it's position is anchored on the principle of equity and "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" of parties at the heart of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, Ramesh said.

"India and other developing nations have also consistently stated that the industrialized nations must fulfill their commitments under the Convention to provide resources to developed countries to enable them to take mitigation and adaptation actions to tackle climate change," he added.

--Sapna Dogra, newsdesk@platts.com