Setting the agenda straight for the Copenhagen talks, India’s envoy on Climate Change said that no workable solution could be reached if the developed countries did not agree to stricter emission reduction goals. He reiterated his country’s stand that it was not ready to commit to any emission reduction goals. He said that technology transfer and funding of clean energy projects are the biggest issues which could decide the future of the next climate treaty.

The views presented by India’s envoy are very unfortunate and seem highly unfair. As far as funding is concerned, India and China are the biggest beneficiaries of the Clean Development Mechanism through which developed countries finance clean energy projects in developing countries to offset their own carbon emissions. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, China is the largest polluter while India is the third largest. This bestows a great share of ‘collective but differential’ responsibility on the Asian giants to cut carbon emissions.  

As far as action by developed countries is concerned, many major world economies have put forward billion dollar investments plans in developing green energy projects something the major developing economies, which are still growing, haven’t done. If the developed countries can act in a time of such grave economic predicament why not the developing economies with their five percent-plus GDP growth rates.

European Union has long been the world leader in acting to reduce its carbon emissions and promoting use of renewable energy and climate policies in the United States and Australia have seen a turnaround since the change of leadership in both the countries. The only thing that hasn’t change is the stand of China and India. For long time they have dogged pressure to reduce their emissions by pointing that their per capita emissions are a third of those of the developed countries. It seems the Chinese and Indian governments haven’t pondered over as to why their overall emissions exceed those of the developed nations.

India and China have made some significant investments in renewable energy - setting up large scale solar and wind energy projects - but still lack a comprehensive nationwide plan to achieve emission reduction or renewable energy goals. It’s not that these Asian giants lack resources to formulate and implement a policy of freezing and steadily reducing their carbon emissions. Both are a manufacturing hubs of a significant shre of world’s solar panels and wind turbines, China has the world’s largest foreign currency reserves and India is seeing the dawn of nuclear powered energy production.

The stark disagreements between the developed and developing countries are ominous signs for the new cliamte treaty. There is no doubt that a climate treaty which does not include developing countries would not only be ineffective but disastrous for the global efforts against climate change. The new treaty should have a two-tier system wherein the developing countries must be obligated to cut their emissions. The developed nations be given a higher target while the developing countries given a slightly diluted goal to cut emissions.

India and China have talked of a ‘common but differential’ responsibility to reduce carbon emissions it’s time that they, along with other advanced developing countries, realize their responsibilities and act in conjugation with the developed countries to reduce carbon emissions.

Image: zyrcster (Creative Commons)