GURGAON, India  It was supposed to be a showcase for how the United States and India can find common cause in fighting climate change: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton toured an innovative, energy-efficient office building on Sunday in this city on the outskirts of New Delhi.

But simmering grievances about how countries should share the burden of cutting greenhouse gases abruptly changed the mood. No sooner had Mrs. Clinton marveled at the building’s environmentally friendly features  like windows that flood rooms with light but keep out heat  than her hosts vented frustration at American pressure on India to cut its emissions.

In a meeting with Mrs. Clinton, India’s environment and forests minister, Jairam Ramesh, said there was “no case” for the West to push India to reduce carbon dioxide emissions when it already had among the lowest levels of emissions on a per capita basis. “If this pressure is not enough,” he said, “we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours.”

Rather than projecting solidarity, the visit ended up laying bare the deep divide between developed and developing countries on climate policy  a gulf the Obama administration will have to bridge as it tries to forge a new global agreement on climate change later this year.