The climate conference on Saturday came out with an ambitious final draft that will limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and commit $100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries, an outcome India welcomed as “balanced” and a way forward for the world.
The target of well below 2 degrees Celsius and even more ambitious 1.5 degrees Celsius was originally expected not to be to the liking of developing countries like India and China who are major emitters on account of industrialisation but Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar was effusive in his welcome of the 31-page document.
Amidst cheers and applause from delegates from 195 countries, the draft of the “historic” deal was presented by French Foreign Minister laurent Fabius and French President Francois Hollande appealed to the gathering to approve the accord.
Delegates got a three-hour recess to go through the document but negotiators were working behind the scenes well behind schedule to clinch the deal. Hollande called Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an apparent bid to persuade India to go with the deal.
After 13 days of hard negotiations, Fabius described the final draft negotiating text as being “fair, durable and legally binding”. Fabius said the agreement would aim at limiting warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and try for an even more ambitious goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The deal also seeks to mobilise a minimum of $100 billion (about Rs 6,70,000 crore) a year from 2020 to help the developing world cope with global warming, he said.
Importantly, a new figure for the financing would be set by 2025, Fabius said, adding that it would enshrine the annual $100 billion as a “floor” — a minimum for the future.
Reacting to the draft, Javadekar told the media that the differentiation between developed and developing countries, which India has been demanding, is mentioned across all the pillars of action including mitigation, adaptation, finance and access to technology.
He said the draft is a “balanced” one and is a way forward for the world. Terming it as an “important achievement” for India, Javadekar said that “sustainable lifestyles and climate justice” which have been espoused by it also get a mention in the final 31-page draft.
“After the first glace of the final text, we are happy that the text contains and take care of concerns of India. It is linked with the convention (United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change) while Common But Differentiated Responsibilities is imbibed in it,” Javadekar said.
“More importantly, differentiation for developed and developing countries are mentioned across all pillars of action -- mitigation, adaption, finance, technology capacity and transparency. That is very important thing,” he said.