VZCZCXRO4597
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM
DE RUEHNE #2955 3241117
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191117Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4276
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 2891
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 3073
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 3833
RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 002955 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/ESC DHENGEL, PSECOR, DHENRY 
STATE FOR OES PDAS RHARNISH, GTHOMPSON 
DEPT OF ENERGY IP FOR TCUTLER, CGILLESPIE, GBISCONTI 
DEPT OF ENERGY FE FOR DAS JMIZROCH, MGINZBERG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG KGHG IN
SUBJECT:  CLIMATE CHANGE: INDIA'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 
 
Ref A: STATE 116939 
Ref B: NEW DELHI 844 
Ref C: NEW DELHI 1818 
 
¶1.  (U) This cable is in response to ref A and provides information 
on changes the Government of India has made over the last 12-18 
months in preparation for negotiations of a post-2012 climate 
agreement. 
 
¶2.  (U) In March 2008, Prime Minister and Union Minister for 
Environment and Forests Manmohan Singh appointed Shyam Saran, 
India's previous Foreign Secretary and Special Envoy for the 
Indo-U.S. Nuclear Agreement, as the PM's Special Envoy for Climate 
Change (ref B).  Saran is slated to serve as India's lead negotiator 
for all international climate negotiations including UNFCCC COP-14 
in Poznan and COP-15 in Copenhagen. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In June 2008, India released it's National Action Plan on 
Climate Change (NAPCC) which articulates and provides direction for 
its priorities on climate change at the national level (ref C).  The 
release of the NAPCC coincided with a restructuring of climate 
change portfolios within the GOI which will not be complete until 
December 2008 at the earliest.  However, it is clear the Prime 
Minister's Office (PMO) and the PM's Council on Climate Change 
retain overall control of the issue both domestically and in terms 
of international negotiations.  In addition, the Ministry of Science 
and Technology (MoST) has been charged with playing a larger role in 
domestic policy formulation while the Ministry of Environment and 
Forests, the putative nodal agency for climate change, appears to 
have had its role reduced to implementing policies formed by the PMO 
and MoST.  The role of the Ministry of External Affairs in 
international negotiations has remained unchanged and apart from 
Saran, no additional staff has been added to address the issue 
within the GOI. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy does not produce 
energy, but it does promote development of wind, solar, mini-hydro 
power and other renewable sources, including by managing GOI 
subsidies for renewables.  The Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Power, 
and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, remain responsible for 
policy related to production and consumption of fossil fuels, and 
oversee GOI-owned parastatal companies, including, for example the 
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) which burns a lot of coal 
to produce power.  Other central government heavy industrial 
ministries and state-level power ministries also control companies 
that are major emitters of greenhouse gases.  The Planning 
Commission is charged with overall energy sector policy and 
planning, including power production, which is predominately and 
increasingly based on coal-fired thermal power. (COMMENT: We expect 
these ministries charged with fuel and energy production to resist 
any domestic or international pressure on India to limit their 
coal-fired thermal power expansion and growing carbon dioxide 
emissions. END COMMENT. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) India is expected to hold national elections before May 
¶2009.  If PM Singh's Congress party dominated coalition is returned 
to power, no significant changes to the current climate change 
bureaucracy are expected.  In addition, India's policy of refusing 
to accept binding international commitments to reduce GHG emissions, 
beyond the current statement that its per capita GHG emissions will 
at no point exceed that of developed countries, is unlikely to 
change no matter the result of the 2009 elections. 
 
¶6.  (U) It does not appear the GOI has made a significant effort to 
bolster its representation in Washington in order to represent its 
views to either the executive or legislative branches of the USG. 
India has made its position clear on climate change through other 
fora however, specifically within the UNFCCC and the Major Economies 
Process. 
 
¶7.  (U) New Delhi ESTHOff regularly discusses climate change issues 
and the U.S. position with counterparts in various embassies in 
Delhi, usually on an informal basis.  Indian NGOs, however, have 
requested formal meetings with ESTHOff specifically to discuss the 
U.S. position on climate change. 
 
 
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