'India mulling greenhouse emissions change of heart'

India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has proposed to the country's prime minister that New Delhi commits to reduce greenhouse gases without insisting on the transfer of finance and technology from rich countries, The Times of India reported yesterday.

If accepted, the idea could put pressure on developing nations and lead to uncertainty, experts warned.

In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ramesh is said to have suggested that the country "junk the Kyoto Protocol and delink itself from G77, the 131-member bloc of developing nations", a radical shift away from the position on climate negotiations held by India since 1990, the newspaper said.