India lauds Obama climate plan but sees concerns

India's chief climate envoy Shyam Saran said on Friday he welcomed President Barack Obama's policy on climate change but warned there would be no global deal if rich nations insisted on emission targets for all.

"There is no doubt that Obama has brought a renewed focus…(but )negotiations at a key Copenhagen climate summit in December would not yield any results if Western nations linked any cut in their emissions to targets accepted by developing countries"Indian prime minister's special envoy on climate change, said in his first comments on Obama's policy speech.

Saran repeated India's stance that it was not in a position to commit to an emissions target.

About 190 countries are trying to craft a broader climate treaty by December to replace the Kyoto Protocol that only binds wealthy nations to emissions targets between 2008 and 2012.

Rich and poor countries remain divided over funds for clean energy investment and technology transfer, as well as new targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for causing droughts, floods and disease.Developing nations such as India and China -- among the world's worst polluters -- are exempt from adopting emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol because they need to burn fossil fuels to lift massive chunks of their population out of poverty.