Politics heats up talks on climate change

The Asian Age , Sunday, October 04, 2009
Correspondent : YOJNA GUSAI and RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN / NEW DELHI
POLITICS, NOT science, is dominating the discourse on climate change as world leaders from 192 countries get ready for the December 7-18 summit in Copenhagen. Many rounds of preparatory talks have taken place this year to set the stage for the summit, but as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, the negotiations were moving at "glacial" speed. The Copenhagen conference will chart out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012. Unlike at Kyoto, the United States today is fully engaged in the climate change negotiations but US President Barack Obama has disappointed the world by not offering specific commitments.

The politics of climate change is manifested in the manner in which the developed countries are seeking to shift the onus for action to developing countries, which have contributed little to the accumulation of greenhouse gasses. The West seeks to control the negotiations by insisting that the developing countries also must accept fixed quotas for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, India, China and other developing economies contend that the major contributor to climate change and global warming are the industrialised countries and, therefore, they should take the initiative of bringing down emission levels by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

India has indicated that it will not change its stand, but at the same time, it will want to be a deal-maker, not deal-breaker, in Copenhagen. New Delhi expected that the outcome of the Copenhagen conference must be rooted in equity and respects the provisions and principles of the UNFCCC, especially common but differentiated responsibilities and also historical responsibility. As a measure of its commitment to the issue, India recently established a National Climate Action Plan which envisaged voluntary mitigation measures by 2020.

Shyam Saran, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy for climate change, said in a recent interview to this newspaper that India sought a balanced package that satisfactorily addressed issues such as mitigation, adaptation, transfer of technology, and finance. "It is not in the treaty [for developing countries such as India] to take on emission cuts," Mr Saran said about the demands being made on India and others to take on legally binding emission reduction targets.

"We are not negotiating a new treaty. We are seeking enhanced implementation of the UN Action Plan," Mr Saran said, recalling that under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) only the developed countries are required to take on absolute emission reduction targets, while the developing countries will be encouraged to take mitigation actions with the provision that these need to be supported by adequate financial resources and technology transfer.

Union minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said that there is simply no case for the pressure that India, which has among the lowest emissions per capita, should reduce emissions. Even with eight to nine per cent GDP growth every year for the next decade or two, India’s per capita emissions will be well below that of developed country averages.

The United States, which has five per cent of the world’s population, produces 22 per cent of the global greenhouse gases. In sharp contrast, India’s greenhouse gas emissions are just four per cent, despite having 17 per cent of the world’s population.

Mr Ramesh also asserted that India will not buckle under pressure from the West on the issue of legally binding greenhouse gases emission reduction targets, but as a developing economy, India will try to bring down emission levels through domestic actions as enumerated in the National Action Plan. Under the Plan, India will make a voluntarily contribution by promoting green technologies and renewable sources of energy, reducing dependence on fossil (non-renewable) fuels such as coal, and increasing energy efficiency.

The National Action Plan drew applause from two British ministers, who returned home impressed by India’s seriousness about mitigating the effects of climate change.

 
SOURCE : http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/india/politics-heats-up-talks-on-climate-change.aspx
 


Back to pevious page



The NetworkAbout Us  |  Our Partners  |  Concepts   
Resources :  Databases  |  Publications  |  Media Guide  |  Suggested Links
Happenings :  News  |  Events  |  Opinion Polls  |  Case Studies
Contact :  Guest Book  |  FAQs |  Email Us