A steely lot, India's negotiators for the Copenhagen climate talks, to be held from December 7th, are still afraid of abandonment by China. India's position looks formidable, so long as the world's other and mightier billion-strong developing nation shares its demands: for the sanctity of the principles enshrined in the Kyoto protocol (KP), which exempts developing countries from having to curb (or mitigate) their carbon emissions. India's champions therefore had a fright last week when China said it would undertake to cut the carbon intensity of its economy-or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP-by 40-45% by 2020, compared with 2005 levels. As The Economist went to press, India was rumoured to be following suit, by announcing its own targets for carbon-intensity cuts.
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