Climate Change Policy Beyond 2012

The Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan, is soliciting views of the Asia Pacific Regimes on the climate regime beyond 2012. In this regard a dialogue was held in New Delhi on July 29, 2005.

The technical session was chaired by Mr Nitin Desai, Former Assistance Secretary General, UN, who invited Kalipada Chatterjee from the Climate Change Unit, Winrock International India, to express his views during the dialogue.

Mr Chatterjee’s views are reproduced below:

The Climate Change Convention and the Protocol

Excessive greenhouse gas emissions from human activities since the beginning of the industrial revolution would result in the increase of global average surface temperature by 1.4 to 5.8 degree Celsius by 2100, as projected by the IPCC.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is adequate to address the various issues on climate change in the near and longer term. Even the Kyoto Protocol to UNFCCC has all the essential elements for forging global efforts towards stabilization of the atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gases at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Efforts must be initiated, however, much before 2012 towards adequacy of commitment by the industrialized countries. IPCC has indicated reduction of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere by 60 percent for stabilization, and therefore a long way to go from the Kyoto commitment of reduction of emission by 5.2 percent from the 1990 levels. Due to long atmospheric lifetime of the greenhouse gasses, adverse impacts due to climate change is inevitable, and due to reasons such as poverty, over population, lack of technology, developing countries like India are most vulnerable to climate change. India’s large population depends on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture and forestry, and higher temperatures will also increase vector bone diseases in India. Adaptation to climate change, therefore, becomes inevitable, which entail considerable costs to the country. International mechanisms must be set up under the UNFCCC to transfer large funds to developing countries like India for initiating measures for adaptation to climate change.

Right to development
The climate change convention has acknowledged and noted developing countries’ right to development. Further, social and economic development and eradication of poverty are the overriding priorities of developing countries like India. Technology transfer, capacity building including building a technological base, transfer of financial resources, education, and awareness generation are essential for development and for making India’s development efforts more efficient. Clean technologies and their transfer are welcome. India has long experience of working with various coal-based technologies, and transfer of such technologies for production of electricity would be very welcome. Besides, India needs funds and other resources to pursue climate change research activities in the country including research in the area of clean energy, adaptation to climate change (drought, floods, cyclones, etc), water resources, human health, agriculture, bio-diversity, and others.

Clean technologies will no doubt help in increasing the efficiency of development but as mentioned earlier the developed countries must accept much deeper cuts in their emission reductions commitment. The convention is very clear that as regards stabilization of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, the developed countries should take the lead. Any commitment by India to reduce emissions at this stage will slow down India’s economic development and the efforts to eradicate poverty and provide a better quality of life to its people.