'UN climate conference to conclude with a resolve to raise ambition of emission cut'

The Times of India , Friday, November 18, 2016
Correspondent : Vishwa Mohan
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO: Amid reports that six G20 nations - Argentina, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States - have failed to take action in line with their Paris Agreement pledges, the countries on penultimate day of the UN climate change conference (COP22) on Thursday appeared to have more or less agreed on content of the upcoming draft which will call the nations to urgently raise their ambition of emission cuts and strengthen cooperation in terms of finance and technology to meet the long-term temperature goals.

Since their current pledges are not enough to keep the average global temperature rise below 2 degree Celsius by 2100 from the pre-industrial level, the call is expected to bring into focus how it is important for all the nations not only to raise their ambitions for post-2020 actions but also to act effectively during pre-2020 period.

An informal draft An informal draft of political declaration (Marrakech Action Proclamation For Climate and Sustainable Development), which has been in circulation for private consultations and testing the ground, talks about call for an increase in the volume, flow and access to finance and technology for climate projects. Since the draft of the Marrakech conference outcome is yet to be formally released, India has been insisting to add a point on 'sustainable lifestyle' in it.

India had even during its country statement on Wednesday called the nations to opt for sustainable lifestyle. The country has, in fact, been making the 'lifestyle' a big issue here during COP22 while driving home a point that the rich nations need to cut their consumption to meet the overall climate goal.

"We have asked for adding sustainable lifestyle in the draft. We have said under the section sustainable lifestyle, a point on minimum carbon footprint should also be included," India's environment minister Anil Madhav Dave said. He had even invoked Mahatma Gandhi in his speech and emphasized that the small changes in everyday lives by moderating lifestyles and encouraging sustainable consumption and production patterns will contribute the global communities in a big way to fight the challenges of climate change.

It will, however, only be clear on the concluding day of the Conference on Friday whether the final draft of the COP22 will include the 'lifestyle' point in it.

The points figured in informal draft are in sync with what all the different scientific reports that have talked about the actions of most of the countries.

A new study of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the London School of Economics and Political Science, released here on Thursday, found that six G20 countries -- Argentina, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States -- have not been undertaking sufficient domestic efforts to match their pledged nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Similarly, the latest Climate Change Performance Index Results of the Germanwatch and the Climate Action Network (CAN), Europe have found many countries in the category of "poor" and "very poor" category in terms of their climate actions to cut emission level, improving efficiency and moving towards renewable energy sources.

WHO STANDS WHERE AMONG G20 NATIONS

• Six G20 countries - Argentina, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States - failed to take action in line with their Paris Agreement pledges.

• These six have not been undertaking sufficient domestic efforts to match their pledged nationally determined contributions

• Six other G20 countries - Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy and the UK - together with the EU as a bloc have undertaken action that is "either completely or mostly consistent with the key requirements of the Paris Agreement."

• India has not provided sufficient information on the baselines for its targets to make an assessment.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/UN-climate-change-conference-to-conclude-with-a-draft-calling-nations-to-raise-amibition-of-emission-cuts/articleshow/55482198.cms
 


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