17 Dec The prerequisites for the success of COP26: Climate justice along with climate finance (GS-3)

The prerequisites for the success of COP26: Climate justice along with climate finance- Today Current Affairs

In the run-up to the Conference of the Parties (COP26), there is a mounting pressure on developing countries like India to curb emissions but nobody is talking much about cumulative historical global emissions that heated the earth by 1.1% above the pre-industrial levels.

If we fail to arrest these emissions and curb the rise in the temperature 0.5C below the preindustrial level then it will lead to many disasters like unprecedented rise in sea levels , sudden weather changes, increased number of cyclones like we see today in arabian sea, crop failure, unpredictable monsoon, submergence of small island countries and storms will make a huge part of the planet prone to disaster and uninhabitable. 

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide (CO2), CO, SOx, CH4, and nitrous oxides (NOx) etc. contribute to global warming but they have varied impact on global warming depending on their respective warming potential. CO2 stays for the longest in the atmosphere, whereas methane, second most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2), is comparatively short-lived but is 28 times more powerful than CO2 as it can warm up the planet 80 times more than CO2 in 20 years of their release.

India is the third largest emitter of CO2 but its per capita share is very less as compared to countries like USA and CHINA. India comes at 21st in the descending order of magnitude of per capita emissions. Contrarily, the historical emissions place India as a fairly low emitter. India’s lead in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 1992, by introducing Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), paved the way for the principle of equity and climate justice. 

In COP26, India’s promise on five points deserve appreciation: The Hindu Analysis

1. To power 50% of our energy needs from renewable sources

2. Increasing the renewable installed capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 from the present 100 GW

3. Reducing the total emission to 1 billion tonnes from its projected emissions from now till 2030

4. Reducing the carbon intensity of the economy by 45% by 2030

5. Pledging net zero by 2070. 

India represents 17% of the global population, but its historical cumulative emissions are only 4% of the global emissions (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change).

Any commitment to net zero by India and similar developing countries will not bring a sizable reduction in GHG emissions unless the United States (US), European Union (EU), and China whose combined emission accounted for almost half of the total emissions, take any concrete measures. The failure of the COP25 was attributed to the poor initiative by the highest polluters. The Paris Agreement of 2015 talked about “loss and damage” but did not say much on liability and redress. The proposal of climate finance by the US to the tune of $100 million annually was brought in and recorded as early as 2009, but the deadline of 2020 has been pushed to 2023.

The basic idea behind climate finance is to compensate the countries facing natural disasters caused by global warming. The other route to protect the planet from depletion and devastation is by technology transfer to ensure clean production practices. This calls for the initiative of the historical emitters to lead by sharing their clean technology, which they acquired. Although technology transfer was never on the table of previous conferences, the UNFCCC aims at the adaptation of the climate goals through several means, including this.

India is predominantly an agricultural economy, and more than half of its population is dependent on agriculture for employment. Livestock and agriculture is central to the economy but both these activities emit methane. Signing a pledge to stop deforestation and cut methane emission may put the rural economy in peril. Livestock emission—from the gastroenteric releases and manure—make up 32% of anthropogenic methane emissions. The NOx from fertilisers also contribute to global warming. The destruction of peatland contributes to methane ending up in the atmosphere. But any disproportionate stress on methane or NOx emission reduction will disturb the food chain causing other imbalances in addition to the rise in food insecurity in less developed and developing countries. The solution lies in farmer-friendly technologies to reduce emissions from livestock and bring climate-friendly paddy cultivation practices within the reach of farmers.

The climate change debate involves the classic case of global commons exploited by the players because of non-excludability. The abstract notion of universalism versus national interests results in different approaches of the players (nations). In the former, all humanity is a composite whole aiming at protecting the environment vis-à-vis the latter with priorities of the individual nations for their well-being leading to the trade-off between securing more rights for their group/nation/bloc. The brouhaha over net-zero emission pledges does not guarantee any check on the emissions before the target date but determining the growth curve of emissions will help.

Although many countries have submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and others have even revised their submissions upwards, the scenario is, at best, suitable for a rise of 2.7% above the pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. All this, too, is only subject to complete fulfilment of the commitments made by the nations. The negotiators at the summit should aim higher with the principle of universalism, considering the basic needs of the poorest of the poor. The protection of vulnerable communities and regions from the vagaries of the environment is as much a necessity as the basic needs of all the dwellers of the planet and should not be posed as competing goals. Hence, climate finance should include technology transfer as well to serve the needs of all.

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Swarn Singh

Plutus IAS Current Affair Team Member