With explosive economic growth, highly publicized environmental woes and prominence in global politics, China generally receives more attention from the environmental press than neighboring India. But that could change as negotiations heat up in the years ahead to create a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
India, like China, seems firmly set in opposition to any binding commitments on developing nations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Newspapers reported yesterday that India rejected the latest U.N. Human Development report that called for developing nations to cut GHG emissions 20% by 2050.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of India’s national policy making body was quoted as saying, “Its recommendations look egalitarian, but they are not.”
He continued, “This is the first time I have seen a United Nations report talk of developing nations to take up commitments. I challenge the research team to supplement their research.”
Ahluwalia spoke at the Indian launch of the report, which also calls for rich, developed nations to cut emissions by 80% by 2050.
India’s stance on the issue is of critical importance, for two reasons. The country is poised to overtake Russia as the third largest global polluter of GHG in the next decade, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency. And the U.S., which is currently the largest polluter, refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, claiming it would damage the U.S. economy unfairly, relative to India and China, which were not required to make cuts under the Kyoto accord due to their status as developing nations.
Many environmental experts and political leaders contend that the participation of developing nations, like India, China, Brazil and others, is necessary, if the next climate change treaty is to achieve the deep emissions cuts needed to sufficiently reduce the buildup of GHG in the atmosphere.
But India has joined other developing countries, saying it does not want to commit to binding emissions cuts, claiming that it must use more energy to lift its population out of poverty–much the same as developed nations did throughout the last century.
Approximately 500 million Indians are not connected to the power grid and must burn cow dung, wood or kerosene for fuel.
This level of poverty might also be to blame for the results of a recent study, which found that climate change is a very low priority for Indian businesses. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released a the study last weak, saying very few of the country’s businesses measured emissions, set deadlines to curb them or planned for climate change.
The CDP said only a third of the 110 top companies polled responded to a survey attempting to gather information about the risks and opportunities presented by climate change.
Paul Simpson, a senior CDP official said, “The survey findings provide a case for efforts towards awareness building and training on greenhouse gas accounting for Indian companies.”
The CDP report did state, however, that the companies responding to the survey were aware of the commercial opportunities presented by global warming–a finding that seems to be in line with the country’s position that rich nations should pay to fight climate change while developing nations do what they must to rise from poverty.
However, this sentiment is not unanimous in the nation. The most notable exception is Indian scientist Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N climate panel and a member of India’s newly formed Council on Climate Change.
He has said it would be disastrous for India to follow the same carbon-intensive path taken by developed nations.
India was also joined in opposition to the call for 20% emissions reduction by Brazil, which reiterated its position yesterday against binding cuts for developing nations. The vast majority of Brazil’s carbon emissions comes, not from burning fossil fuels, but rather from deforestation of its vast rain forests.
China has yet to make a statement regarding the new U.N. report, though it has consistently stated reluctance to accepting binding emissions cuts. However, the country appears to be taking important steps to clean up industrial pollution and increase energy efficiency through policy changes and pressure on local party officials. And perhaps due to pressure from environmental groups in the lead up to the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008, China seems willing to even take a leadership role in confronting climate change, announcing at the East Asian Summit this month that it will host a symposium on the issue early next year.
Loading...