Not coal alone
Having learnt a lesson from the earlier UN climate summit COP conferences where the West tended to be more assertive than the developing world, India has at the ongoing COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, been, and rightly so, vocal about the measures for combating the climate crisis. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav was categorical that no fuel be singled out in the fight against climate change. He laid emphasis on the phasing down — rather than phasing out — of all fossil fuels. Feeling the heat of the agreement signed at last year’s Glasgow COP, India, though committed to the pact as it enhances its renewable energy sector, has realised that the developed countries have ducked their responsibility. This is evident from the baseless singling out of coal from among the fossil fuels as the villain of the piece in Glasgow. India was particularly projected in a bad light for its continued dependence on coal in around 50% of its power generation.
However, in an apparent disdain for a just transition, the UN’s first draft has ignored India’s proposal for ‘phasing down of all fossil fuels’, even though it was supported by the European Union and other countries. Hopefully, the final draft would correct this omission.
Yadav has also sought clarification on what constitutes climate finance. Pushing the developed countries to expedite the transfer of technology and funds needed to address climate change, he argued that loans extended by the West towards this end could not be classified as climate finance. India’s stance is based on the well-established premise that in the world order of industrialisation, the West is far ahead of the developing countries. And, since its march to progress came largely on the back of fossil fuels, the developed world is majorly responsible for the global warming and resulting disasters. Thus, it owes a carbon debt to the developing countries which are still struggling to meet their development goals and, alongside, have to contend with de-carbonisation efforts. Taking the support of the spirit of the Paris Agreement, India has rooted for the notion that countries will do what is suitable as per their national circumstances.
