Amid reports that India is part of a powerful bloc of countries objecting to

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binding emission cuts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for Copenhagen Thursday to renew India's pitch for "a balanced, equitable and ambitious outcome" at the UN climate summit there, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said.

She told reporters here on Wednesday that the high-level Indian delegation will include the PM's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran. India has announced that it will consider an emission intensity cut of 20 to 25 per cent by 2020, but has made clear that it would not be forced into accepting binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Rao said the prime minister's visit to Copenhagen was significant because the "numbers on the table" put up by developed countries for emission cuts are "disappointing" and pitched for "a comprehensive, effective and and equitable outcome" at the ongoing UN climate conference.

Denying that India was throwing the spanner in the works, she emphasised that India is not "a naysayer" and will play a "constructive role" in the climate change negotiations at Copenhagen. "We are not naysayers. But India will stand up to protect and preserve its national interests. Developing countries are solidly behind us," she said in an apparent reference to the growing clout of the Group of 77 countries and amid deepening rifts between developed and developing countries over key issues relating to mitigation, technology transfer and finance.

Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh, along with key negotiators, is already heading the Indian delegation at the summit.