Dr. Arvind Kumar*
The release of the IPCC’s latest report on April 4, the third and final part of the IPCC’s thorough review of climate science, has suggested that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025, and can nearly be halved by the close of the current decade. The avowed objective is to limit global warming to 1.5°C and this would need immediate and steep emissions cuts reductions across all sectors. While noting that the average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their zenith in the history of humankind between 2010 and 2019, albeit the rate of growth was slow, the IPCC report cautioned against complacency.
Pointing out that China and India contributed more than 50% to the net increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the 2010-2019 period at 39% and 14% respectively, the report has listed ten top countries – China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Russia, and Brazil – that jointly contributed about 75% of GHG emissions. However, the IPCC also envisages that at the country level, the picture is more nuanced and both India and China have shown signs of relative decoupling GDP and emissions because of structural change.
While welcoming IPCC’s latest report, Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said on April 5, that India welcomes IPCC’s latest report that fully supports India’s view on the necessity of finance for developing countries. IPCC’s latest report that focuses on climate mitigation has also acknowledged the paucity of financial resources for developing countries as a major roadblock, and it is worth mentioning here that IPCC in its previous reports had also acknowledged that limited finance has been a major obstacle in enhancing adoption of innovation and low-emission technologies in developing countries.
Even the developed countries have not kept their promise of providing climate finance $100 billion per year to developing countries till 2020 in fight against climate change. Citing IPCC Report’s finding that the current financial flows fall short of the levels required to achieve mitigation goals across sectors and regions, Bhupender Yadav noted that the challenge of closing gap was the largest in developing countries as a whole, and it is in this context that IPCC report has fully endorsed India’s position on the need for scale, scope and speed of climate finance.
Alluding to IPCC report mentioning that equity remains the central theme in the UN climate regime, notwithstanding the shift in differentiation between states over time and challenges in assessing fair shares, Bhupender Yadav said that the access to a fair share of the remaining carbon budget for developing countries has emerged as an important question, and India has consistently raised the issue of historical responsibility of developed countries to combat the ongoing crisis of climate change.
India has never brooked any delay in highlighting the issue of climate justice and equity in various climate forums in the past. According to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, both historical cumulative emissions and per capita annual emissions show India’s role, as part of South Asia, is minimal, and he further adds that India’s position on historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget has been scientifically established by the latest report of IPCC which explicitly underlines the urgency for a deep and urgent reduction in global emissions. He further states that four-fifths of the carbon budget for a 1.5 temperature increase and two-thirds of the total carbon budget for 2 warming had already been consumed.
India has maintained that the latest report of IPCC dealing with climate change mitigation and international cooperation is a major contribution of IPCC to fight climate change. While recognizing the significant role played by lifestyle and behaviour in mitigating climate change, as also endorsed by the IPCC report, has too found support from India which has been emphasizing the need for curtailing unsustainable consumption. Asserting that India will continue to be the voice of ambition as well as the champion of equity on behalf of developing countries, the Union Minister said, “India walks the talks and speaks from position of strength and responsibility on subject of climate change. India will become a part of the solution of climate change.”
