Developing countries such as India and China could be set to implement carbon cuts under new upcoming global climate treaty

In the wake of a recent meeting between EU officials and their counterparts from a host of mostly developing nations, there appears to be a willingness to reassess the status quo as it regards emissions reductions based on the Kyoto Protocol’s country classification. Under the original agreement large but developing countries such as India and China were exempt from the stringent carbon cuts demanded of developed nations.

According to Connie Hedegaard the EU climate chief, "Countries have recognised that the old division between developed and developing countries – there are limits to how useful that is in the 21st century." More specifically, India and China could be facing stiffer emissions requirements due to their large, fossil fuel based economies coupled with the fact of their rise in global influence. China in particular now stands as the single largest carbon emitter and the second largest economy in the world.

More about the meeting, which comes ahead of next month’s global climate talks in Bonn, can be read on the Guardian online.