After Paris, Climate Reset

Context:  India should come up with a climate strategy that does not compromise its growth prospects for the  26th Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Positive developments in the fight against climate change

• Commitments under the Paris agreement:
  • Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Climate finance commitment: Developed countries commitment to climate finance $100
• Ambitious targets set by some countries:
  • European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions by 55 % in 2030 with 2000 as the base year and achieve “carbon neutrality” by 2050.
  • China has announced that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 
• Change in the United States’ (US’) approach: persuading major emitting nations to commit to ambitious mitigation targets.
• Prioritising climate change: E.g. UK had declared that climate change at the top of G-7 agenda

Challenges in the global climate regime:

• Insufficiency of Paris commitments: to limit the rise of temperature below 1.5-degree limit set by the scientific community (on a track towards 3-degree centigrade rise)
• Exclusion of India’s interest in the global platforms:
  • USA may engage with China to come up with a template for COP-26 but did not take India’s interests despite China being part of the BASIC group of Brazil, South Africa, China and India.
  • Relentless effort by the US and Western European countries to include climate change on the UN Security Council (UNSC) agenda. (countries believe that it is security issues)
• Excessive focus on mitigation: and stepmotherly treatment of adaptation; climate change will continue to impact since greenhouse gases accumulated diminish only gradually.
• Lack of actual finances: According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the actual flow was only $79 billion in 2018.
  • According to the Indian Finance Ministry, only 1 billion dollars in new and additional finance is being transferred to developing countries annually.

Steps to be taken by India:

• Focus on mitigation: Adaptation should have equal billing with mitigation whenever and wherever climate change action is being deliberated upon.
• India to provide intellectual leadership:
  • India should highlight the financing needs to enable the mobilisation of other developing countries, in particular, small and medium countries and small island developing states.
  • Let BASIC become a consultative forum only and reconstruct a larger coalition of developing countries whose climate change goals are more aligned with its own.
  • Exposing the menacing intent behind linking the climate issue with security issues.

Conclusion: India’s climate change strategy should contribute to a global climate regime that enhances India’s development prospects and helps to adapt and accelerate towards a low carbon growth trajectory.