Climate change is a matter of grave concern, both nationally and internationally, as it poses a severe threat to the existence of humanity as a whole. The position has become so precarious that the carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration in the air has reached 412.5 parts per million (ppm) in 2020 with a jump of 2.6 ppm more than 2019; and as such, the world is going to witness a severe global warming effect surpassing the threshold of 1.5º Celsius of temperature by the end of the 21st century.
The majority of the human populations is not responsible for the dramatic resurgence in Green House Gases (GHGs), neither are they responsible for emitting it now. Rather, it is the result of Industrial Revolution post 1850s led by the West-dominated and industrialised countries. Taking this historically disproportionate account of emission into consideration, today the developing countries, including India, demand major mitigation measures by the Annex 1 countries (the industrialised countries as categorised under the Kyoto Protocol), thereby endorsing the concept of ‘Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’(CBDR-CRs). And they are perfectly right in demanding so. But the developed countries, including the US, press for a simultaneous and similar contribution by the developing nations.
However, with the Paris Climate Pact, 2015 concluded at COP 21, many countries have submitted their own Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). This is the first step of cleaning the hands by the Western bloc and sharing the onus with the developing nations who have never been part of this anthropogenic-caused climatic crisis. This is nothing but an indirect imposition of carbon burden upon the developing and Small and Island Countries (SICs). A closer look at India’s emission points out that in 2016, the total emission, excluding Land Use Land-Use Change and Forests (LULUCF), was 2838.89 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e), as per GHG Emission Profile of Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change. The per capita GHG emission in 2016 was 1.96 CO₂e which is less than one-third of the world’s per capita GHG emission of 6.55 CO₂e (CAIT Database, 2020).
Source: www.worldometers.com
Second, the politics of climate finance. The COP 16 through the Cancun Agreement, 2010 established a Green Climate Fund (GCF) where the developed countries committed with a goal of mobilising USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of the developing countries. The politics involved is that the developed countries not only failed to mobilise the $100 billion/year but also continued to present it as the ceiling for their ambition all the year up to 2025. On the other hand, while developing countries have stepped up their climate action post 2009, still no matching ambition from developed parties is noticed. As per the OECD reports, the public finance component of GCF amounted to only $ 62.2 billion in 2018. What is more worrisome is that the climate finance can’t continue at the levels decided in 2009; rather, it should be at least $ 1 trillion to address the goal of mitigating the climate change as reiterated by the Indian Environment Minister at the COP 26, Glasgow (source: PIB, 02 Nov, 2021).
Lastly is the politics of Net Zero or Carbon Neutral targets announced by some European countries and China. Net Zero refers to a state in which the GHGs going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere. There is an international consensus that global net human-caused emissions of CO₂ need to fall by about 45% from the 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050. However, we need not necessarily adhere to this principle as India’s historical cumulative emission is 4% only with the current annual emission hovering around 5% according to the Third Biennial Update Report presented at COP26.
Further, India speaks on climate change from a position of strength and responsibility, for we have dramatically achieved a 24% reduction in emission intensity of GDP over the period of 2005-2016, thereby achieving 60% of the first target (decreasing the emission intensity of GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level) in the pre-2020 level (source: PIB, 06 Nov 2021). Similarly, in the last seven years, India’s installed solar energy capacity has been enhanced by 17 times, thus fulfilling the second target of INDC (achieving about 40% cumulative e-power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel bound energy resources).
Last but not the least, the forest cover is increasing and currently stands at 24.56% of total geographical area (India State of Forests Report, 2019), marching ahead with the third INDC target (creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tones of CO₂e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030). India is also among a few counties which is 2 degrees compliant not only at government level but at private level. The world now admires India’s ambitious target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. At the India CEO Forum on Climate Change, it was emphasised that the private sector has also benefited from India’s participation in Clean Development Mechanism of Kyoto Protocol.
But we have a long way to go where we can work by emphasising upon the Commonwealth Declaration on Climate Change for finance and technological transfer. Five important areas are to be looked into seriously like sustainable land use, energy transition to more renewable, low emission vehicle transition, climate finance and adaptation. What is the need of the hour is that the collective R&D and cutting-edge technology transfer by the Annex 1 countries to the developing and SICs to drive low carbon pathways. The pending issues at the UNFCCC such as Art 6 and Paris Rule book should be finalised immediately with a Common Time Frame and Enhanced Transparency Framework. The voices of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) should be heard loud and clear by highlighting the empty promises of the developed countries. Moreover, a strong emphasis is to be given on different national circumstances of partners and any decision should be based on a multilateral, inclusive, party-driven and consensus-oriented approach without heeding political ramifications.
(Jyotiranjan is an Additional Central Government Standing Counsel, Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench and a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law and Media Studies at School of Mass Communication, KIIT University. Prof Sahoo is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology, FM Autonomous College, Balasore)
