Obama would meet Modi on November 30, the opening day of the Paris climate change conference.
As the negotiations in Copenhagen appeared to have entered a deadlock, the Obama Administration has insisted on "transparency" of any operational agreement on climate change at the ongoing summit meeting in the Denmark Capital.
Some 80 presidents and premiers are expected to attend the final days of the conference on December 17-18. Obama might use his December 9 drop-by at the Copenhagen conference on his way to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway to announce a US offer on financing.
New text is "ambitious and balanced"
Asserting that the world does not have much time to correct the mistakes of the last century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a 'Green Credit Initiative' focused on creating carbon sinks through people's participation and also proposed to host the United Nations climate conference in 2028, or COP33, in India.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi, jointly held by National Thermal Power Corporation and the Confederation of Indian Industry, he added that developing countries should also not expect any financial or technical assistance from developed nations to help reduce their carbon footprint.
At Copenhagen, attempts to arrive at a fair deal on climate change were deadlocked with countries refusing to budge from their positions on sticky issues like emission cuts. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who is leading the Indian delegation, said the BASIC group -- comprising India, China, South Africa and Brazil -- "is united and we would like to reiterate that we want an equitable and fair agreement to emerge out of the summit".
Government on Friday said it will not compromise India's interest at the Copenhagen climate change summit, but a dissatisfied opposition walked out in the Rajya Sabha.
The US President is scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen early Friday morning local time. Obama will attend the morning plenary session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference and is expected to deliver brief address on the issue.
To ensure that the nearly two-week Summit, the biggest on climate, is as environment-friendly as the Centre, the organisers have ensured that paper, plastic, metal, wood and glass used are recycled to the highest degree possible by an EMAS-certified local waste management company.
Seeking a constructive approach to move forward in the global efforts to combat climate change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that India is willing to do more provided there are 'credible' arrangements from rich nations on financial support and technology transfers.
The Climate Change conference in Copenhagen last year yielded the contentious and non-binding Copenhagen Accord.
Challenges posed by climate change hit centre stage in 2009 which saw the government doing a flip-flop ahead of the crucial Copenhagen summit even as the Opposition and experts alleged that India succumbed to pressure from rich nations on emission cuts.
Proposals are being worked upon at the Copenhagen summit to cut the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, prominent among which is the use of nuclear energy.
The divergent utterances by environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh and prime minister's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran have created a good deal of ambiguity within and outside the country over the government's strategy for these talks.
Attacking the so-called 'climategate' affair as a bid to undermine the capability of his organisation, Rajendra Pachauri said at the opening ceremony that those who had hacked into the e-mails of top climate scientists were out to discredit the scientific assessment made of threats to the climate.
India decided to cut down its carbon emission intensity by 20-25 per cent by 2020 in the run up to the Copenhagen summit, shortly after a similar declaration by China.
With less than two months to go for the climate-change summit in Copenhagen, India has resolved to re-brand itself as a deal-maker.
"From the Indian point of view, if I were a politician, I'd continue to play it hard," explains Mike Hulme, professor at the University of East Anglia's prestigious climate change programme. "From a rational perspective, India has to do what's best for its people."
The 54-page Paris agreement draft had been scaled down to 50.
A top US delegate at Copenhagen summit denied the possibility that hacked e-mails had made the case for sceptics stronger and said the incident would not affect the fate of climate change bill in the American Senate.
The developing countries fear that the mysterious draft prepared by Denmark would be sprung upon hours before the high-level segment of climate talks begins, making it difficult for any world leader to oppose.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arrived in Italy to attend the G-8 summit -- which neither carries high hopes for India, nor for the world.
The Bombay Natural History Society and over 100 other NGOs across the world, which are partners of the UK-based BirdLife International, have stressed on replacing the 'wasteful and energy-intensive lifestyles with holistic, balanced and energy-saving lifestyles.'
Ahead of the key climate summit in Copenhagen, representatives of the G-77 group of developing nations and China spent two days, discussing their strategy for the meeting and speculating on possible outcomes and their position on specific issues.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, the industry body has outlined its view on the climate change negotiations based on Indian industry's feedback and called for the prime minister to urge the developed world to provide technology transfer and funds to help mitigate the crisis.
India has said it was under pressure from some developing nations to accept the Copenhagen Accord prepared at the UN meet on climate change last month at the Danish Capital.
Consensus eluded negotiators on Wednesday to stitch an equitable and just accord on climate change in the last lap before the summit on Friday with no headway being made to iron out sticking points on carbon emission cuts, mitigation targets and long-term financing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three-day visit to Germany, Denmark and France from May 2 to 4 to further expand bilateral ties in diverse areas.
"Climate change is a major global challenge. But it is not of our making," Modi said.
As a special gesture, Frederiksen received Modi at the airport. He arrived in Copenhagen from Germany.
Senior journalist Darryl D'Monte reports exclusively for Rediff.com from Paris.
Major nations in the group are concerned over several drafts of a potential agreement that are floating around including the Danish proposal, which is yet to be fully disclosed.
The Delhi government sources said the chief minister was scheduled to leave for the summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, at 2 pm on Tuesday, but could not take the flight as the MEA denied him the political clearance to attend the meeting.
'If Asia does become a Chinese dominated space, it will not only be because India failed to get its economic act together but also because it did not stand up for its democratic credentials,' warns Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
So far, major emitters are far from curbs on emissions on a scale outlined by the IPCC.
Hours before the prime minister's departure for Copenhagen, a cargo van brushed against the PM's special aircraft, Air India One, causing a dent. Sources said the PM was not in the aircraft when the incident took place
The tense atmosphere between India and China has changed for good after the Copenhagen summit, claimed a top-level source dealing with the Chinese in Indian government.
Macron held a tete-a-tete with Modi before the delegation-level talks at the Elysee Palace - the official residence of the French president.
'It is absolutely critical on pure economic terms, but it's also smart politically, because a recent survey reported that 73 percent of Indians view climate change as the most pressing global concern,' US Secretary of State John Kerry tells a high-power audience in Washington, DC.
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