The US decision to pull out from the Paris climate accord will hamper India’s access to clean energy technology from the US and also have funding implication for developing countries to fight the challenge of global warming. Despite such challenges, India is well-placed to meet its obligation with or without the US assistance.
Experts feel that India can still carry on responsibly since New Delhi has already initiated several green measures, including a massive renewable energy programme involving solar, wind, and nuclear energy. They also pointed out most of India’s programmes under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) are internally financed and carried out with its indigenous technology.
According to Paris accord, by 2020 developing countries would receive 100 billion dollars yearly to encourage green economic growth. Now it would require other developed countries to contribute more generously offset the financial dent made by US exit. India and the United States do have a strong joint programme for clean energy and climate change. This is executed through bilateral mechanisms and has nothing to do with the Paris Agreement.
The Paris agreement commits the US and other countries to keep rising global temperatures “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and “endeavour to limit” them to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Unfazed by the US withdrawal from the climate change deal, India’s Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan maintained that the country is committed to the Paris agreement “irrespective” of the stand taken by any other country.
“We are committed to ensuring that we will do our best to address the issue related to climate change and global warming,” Vardhan told reporters here.
President Donald Trump on Friday declared the US would withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate accord, saying the “draconian” deal unfairly punished America but benefited countries such as India and China. The US stand has drawn flak from environmentalists here.
RK Pachauri, former chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the US decision was “truly unfortunate” as it completely ignores the scientific reality of climate change and the moral responsibility of the US for taking action.
Ajay Mathur, director general, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) said, “The absence of US leadership and financial support in implementing the Agreement could delay actions to both reduce global emissions as well as to adapt to the adverse impacts of the climate change that has already occurred.”
“However, we believe that the positive trends in the decline of prices of renewable energy and energy efficiency will continue to drive global action to ensure that global temperature rise remains well below 2 degrees C,” he said.
Solar energy production cost has come down drastically in India and the country is set to see manifold increase in production of solar and wind energy over the years. “We can meet our global obligation with or without the US, through access to technology and financing may be impacted,” said another expert.
Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said the US, by becoming an outlier on climate action, will soon realise the “folly” of its decision -- that it will lose out on investment, jobs and market opportunities in a lower carbon economy.
Calling Trump’s decision “irresponsible and shortsighted”, Ravi Chellam, executive director, Greenpeace India said it was a loss for the US in many ways and an opportunity for India to provide global leadership on the climate issue.
Kaushal Goyal, MD of the KBS Certification Services, which has the distinction of being the first Indian body accredited by UNFCCC in non-forestation sectors, was of the view that efforts by other countries wouldn’t be able to sustain the climate if the US keeps on emitting. Only disadvantage India would have in the transfer of technology which after exit from the agreement US will not be bound to share.
He also felt that the effort towards green climate fund which is aimed for least developed countries will be severely affected. “All countries have committed to INDC voluntarily and there is no binding commitment as such and hence the decision may encourage other countries to exit from the agreement, including India,” Goyal added.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a think tank’s DG Sunita Narain said, “With the US president’s latest assault on the global fight against climate change, meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement will become an uphill task. Trump has sounded the death knell for the Agreement. “
“Pulling out of the Paris Agreement would mean that with 5 per cent of the world population, the US will continue to jeopardise the remaining 95 per cent. Countries need to hold the US accountable for decisions that have a global impact,” Narain said.