Meeting for the first time since the UN-sponsored climate change negotiations in Warsaw last November, ministers of the four BASIC countries—Brazil, South Arica, India and China-—sought to craft a common position for the next round of talks at Lima.

At the first round of ministerial level meetings held here on Thursday evening, the quartet discussed the elements they would like included in the post-2020 climate agreement. Discussions on the new agreement, which will be finalised in Paris next year, are already underway.

It is expected that the broad elements of a working draft will be agreed to at the year-end negotiations to be held in Lima, Peru under the aegis of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change.

The key question before the BASIC is on the nature and timing of intended nationally determined contributions or efforts to tackle climate change, a concept introduced at the Warsaw round of negotiations. There is a difference of opinion over what constitutes intended nationally determined contributions (INDC).

Developed countries view these "contributions" only in terms of efforts to reduce carbon emissions, while developing countries, including the BASIC,understand "contributions" to include efforts to adapt to climate change, finance, technology and capacity building.

The New Delhi meeting of the BASIC will focus on crafting a common position to ensure that "contributions" reflected in the new global compact on climate change is not limited to emission reduction alone.

India's environment minister Prakash Javadekar made that clear at the recent Paris meeting of the Major Economies Forum, of which all BASIC countries are members. Javadekar had in his intervention made it clear that a robust global agreement on climate change is directly linked to the predictable availability of financing through the Green Climate Fund.

A line that was followed up at the informal ministerial held in Petersberg, Germany in July. The BASIC countries are also expected to decide on the timing of submitting information on these "contributions". The decision at Warsaw set a date of March 2015, and there is considerable pressure to ensure that all countries submit the requisite information by that time.

However, developing countries would like some leeway in submitting their information, possibly by June next year. Javadekar has sought to lay the ground work for this in his bilateral meetings with France and United States by linking the efforts by developing countries to reduce carbon emissions to developed countries committing substantial and dedicated funds for climate fund in time for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's climate summit in September.

Another issue that came up in Thursday's round of ministerial meetings was the BASIC strategy on ensuring that the differentiation between developing and developed countries gets reflected in the new global agreement.

The meet also discussed the steps to tackle climate change in the pre-2020 period, that is, before the new agreement comes into force. Their deliberations focused on ensuring that developed countries meet their emission reduction commitments, as agreed to under the Kyoto Protocol as well as meet their commitment to provide funds to tackle climate change.

At Thursday's round of the ministerial meet, Javadekar briefed his counterparts on the bilateral discussion he has held with France, United States and other visiting ministers on the issue of climate change.