Given that the country is well on course to achieving its targets much ahead of the deadlines, a holistic approach to the climate change mitigation process will lead to meaningful action
The global climate change negotiation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is held periodically under the aegis of the Conference of Parties (CoP). The 24th CoP to the UNFCCC, COP24, was held in Katowice, Poland, from December 2 to 14. After the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015, the Katowice meet was the most significant. It was supposed to lay down the contours for climate change action plans. This year marked the deadline, as agreed by signatories of the Paris Agreement, to adopt a “work programme for the implementation” of commitments that were made in 2015. An analysis of the decision taken in CoP24 clearly indicates that the shadow of the US’ withdrawal from the climate change talk is over. A new global leadership has emerged and India is leading from the front.
Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, his actions, determination and dynamism ensured that the commitments made at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21, reached the ultimate goal despite the many problems faced by our country, most important of them pertaining to the growth in population. The second most important leader in the global climate leadership is French President Emmanuel Macron, who readily agreed to Prime Minister Modi’s proposal for setting up the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which was signed by both leaders earlier this year. More than 120 countries have become signatories to the ISA. In October 2018, more than 48 countries along with 25 heads of states attended the ISA conference that was hosted by India.
Another reason for the progress of climate-related talks is the trust factor. Most low and middle income countries bestowed faith in Prime Minister Modi’s capability to steer the climate change proceedings due to his stature as a global leader. The only other country that holds similar potential is China. But then, it suffers from trust deficit. It would be worthwhile to discuss some of the takeaways from the CoP24 and India’s role in the successful conclusion of the climate change conference. Prior to this, we saw the then Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Jairam Ramesh, registering similar impact on India’s idea of climate diplomacy. Ramesh also espoused the cause of the developing world.
Global rules are necessary to ensure that every percentage of the emission released into the atmosphere is accounted for. In this way, progress towards the limitation goals of the Paris Agreement can be measured accurately. Currently, climate actions of rich nations for the pre-2020 period are being guided by the Kyoto Protocol. The UN climate change conference adopted a rulebook for the implementation of the Paris Agreement only after protracted negotiations. This deal is meant for climate action by all countries across the globe.
Its success was explained by Michal Kurtyka, CoP24 president: “We have worked on this (Katowice) package for three years. With 200 countries in the room, it is not easy to find agreement on a deal so specific and technical. But under these circumstances, every single step forward is a big achievement.”
The Katowice climate package includes guidelines that will operationalise the transparency framework. It sets out how countries will provide information about their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that describe their domestic climate actions. This information includes mitigation and adaptation measures as well as details of financial support for climate action in developing countries.
With this, countries can chalk out a roadmap for the implementation of the Paris Accord that covers the period from now till 2020. The Katowice package also includes guidelines for establishing new targets on finance from 2025 onwards to follow on from the current target of mobilising $100 billion per year from 2020 to support developing countries. The other guidelines include how to conduct the global stock-taking of the effectiveness of climate action in 2023 and how to assess progress on the development and transfer of technology by the developed nations. The guidelines, known as the Paris rulebook, will promote trust among nations that all countries are playing their part in addressing the challenge of climate change.
The word ‘trust’ signifies the most positive outcome of the Katowice Conference. However, issues that still have to be taken into account circle the use of cooperative approaches as well as the sustainable development mechanism, as contained in the Paris Agreement’s Article 6. These would allow countries to meet a part of their domestic mitigation goals through the use of so-called ‘market mechanisms.’
On this matter, the Paris Agreement recognises the need for global rules to safeguard the integrity of efforts of all countries. It is hoped that this issue will be decided in future meetings, and India is expected to play a key role.
The Indian delegation reiterated its stand with overwhelming support that the Paris Climate Agreement was “non-negotiable” and there could be no compromise on the basic principles such as equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. It effectively countered the attempts of rich countries, led by the US and the European Union, to dilute this provision.
India stressed the need for using scientific findings on climate change and welcomed the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report, which said that human activities are estimated to have caused approximately one degrees celsius of global warming above the pre-industrial levels and are currently increasing at 0.2 degrees celsius per decade.
India in its statement stood for the poor, marginalised and vulnerable communities as they are worst-hit by the vagaries of climate change. On the first day of CoP24, India made it clear to the world that it was well on course to achieve all its climate targets much ahead of the deadline it set for itself. It asked its developed counterparts to meet their obligations, including those relating to providing financial and technological help to the developing countries.
The Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a US-based organisation that conducts research and analysis on financial and economic issues related to energy and environment, showed that India was likely to attain the goal of having 40 per cent of its electricity generation coming from renewable sources by the year 2020, instead of the original target of 2030. It said that by the year 2027, renewable energies like solar, wind and biomass would generate about 275 GW of electricity, comprising 44 per cent of India’s total power generation of 619 GW. Hydro and nuclear energy, which are also considered as clean sources of energy, would contribute another 80 GW or about 13 per cent.
The Government, however, needs to take some more pro-active action, especially in tackling the landscape. This (because India is a tropical nation facing the vagaries of climate change) has already started affecting its landscape and consequently the livelihoods of the poor. It has caused uncertainty in agriculture and disturbed hydrological cycles.
The Himalayan glaciers are receding and the flow of rivers originating from these glaciers is making the whole living scenario precarious. There is a need to adopt a holistic approach for the overall developmental process in which climate change mitigation and adaptation should be a collateral benefit. Otherwise, it will jeopardise the goals of sustainable development in the long run. Also, joint forest management must be made the central theme of the entire mitigation and adaptation procedure. It is to be hoped that the Government takes action on the suggested lines.
(The writer is a Retired Civil Servant
