Singh with US President Barack Obama in L’Aquila. (AP)

L’Aquila, July 9: A new superscript lies clearly embossed on the fine-print of the joint G8-G5 declaration that emerged at L’Aquila today — the economic downturn has brought home the message to the developed world that it can’t move without paying heed to the concerns of the developing.

Emerging economies led by the G5 extracted near-sweeping commitments from rich nations on rejecting economic protectionism and propping of trade barriers.

Tagged to the anti-protectionism pledge is a guarantee on “balanced conclusion” to the logjammed Doha WTO talks by 2010, which will be interpreted by many as a quid pro quo concession by developing nations, especially India.

But if developed nations can be held to their promise against resorting to protectionism, working to a deadline on the Doha round of talks may not mean yielding much. “We reaffirm our commitment to maintain and promote open markets and reject all protectionist measures in trade and investment,” the L’Aquila declaration said.

In a clear response to calls made by G5 leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Brazilian President Luiz Lula, ahead of today’s outreach meeting, the declaration added: “We will cooperate to ensure that the global economy resumes growth along a balanced, equitable and sustainable path for the benefit of all, especially the most vulnerable…. The economic and financial crisis has clearly reinforced the need for enhanced international and multilateral co-operation… it is important to ensure that developing economies, in particular low income countries, are able to cope with the effects of the crisis.”

The absence of specific commonality between the rich and developing nations on climate change — the other big-ticket issue at the summit — rings loud through the declaration, but the happy news for emerging capitals probably is that they have not been arm-twisted into making any commitments on lowering green house gas (GHG) emission volumes in the absence of the developed world accepting its “historical responsibility” of agreeing to much larger cuts in its huge emission volumes.

Climate change negotiations remain bogged down in both sides fixing greater onus on the other to fix global warming. The summit document, consequently, escaped specifics and sent out a general message to confirm a joint “political will for reaching a comprehensive, fair, effective, agreed outcome” at the Copenhagen Conference in December.

In what indicates another, if only symbolic, concession to the developing world, though, the document did recognise that climate change “severely affects developing countries and is become a major threat to their ability to achieve internationally agreed development goals”. The declaration is also positive, though unspecific, on the developing countries’ demand that in order to help them neutralise the impact of climate change, the developed world should help with the funding and transfer of low carbon technologies.

“We will encourage and facilitate the development, dissemination and mutually agreed transfer of clean, low-carbon technologies reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency,” the declaration said.

Developing world negotiators warned, though, that this is no firm commitment on funding and transfer of environment-friendly technology, an issue that will have to be hammered out at various international fora as the clock ticks away to the December summit at Copenhagen.

Developing nations have been arguing that climate change is essentially a result of accumulated carbon puffed out by industrialised nations over several decades and that it is their responsibility in the main to clear the air and help the developing world take the battle against climate change ahead.

“We have to work essentially on the polluter-pays principle,” said Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister’s special envoy on climate change. “To that extent, it is not only the developed world’s responsibility to achieve sharp and significant reduction in emission levels, at least 40 per cent by 2020, but also to transfer green technology to the developing world and ensure that there are predictable and stable financial resources available to poorer and emerging nations for fighting global warming.”

Saran remained hopeful that the two sides will be able to reach an agreement at the Copenhagen conference, saying: “This is not our or their problem alone, this is a global challenge all of us might fight. Our only point is those who are responsible and those who are better placed to provide instruments to fight climate change should own their historical responsibility.”