Goal of India’s G20 Presidency is to tackle Climate Change

21 Oct 2022 Goal of India’s G20 Presidency is to tackle Climate Change

Source: The Indian Express

News: Emission of Greenhouse gas is a major global concern and it requires a coordinated approach to tackle it.

Greenhouse gases (GHG):

• After emission GHG remains in the atmosphere for a long time, while other pollutant gases have a relatively shorter life span.
• Major constituents of GHG i.e.carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere for as long as a thousand years.
• Distance traveled by GHG is far greater than other pollutant gases:  Carbon dioxide can travel up to thousands of kilometres while pollutant gases like sulphur dioxide at best travel up to a few hundred kilometres.
• Greenhouse gases also impact far away climate from the source: Excessive sulphur dioxide emissions cause acid rain (rainwater containing sulphuric acid) in areas near the emitting source, carbon dioxide impacts far away places. 
• The 19th century Industrial Revolution and global Industrialisation exacerbated the volumes of GHG in the atmosphere.

Steps taken to address greenhouse gases induced climate change:

• Countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) framework started International climate change negotiations in 1994.

Issues while addressing climate change:

• Reluctance on part of developed countries to help developing countries to help them adapt to and mitigate climate change.Despite the fact that developed countries owe debt  to developing countries.
• Accounting issues associated with climate fund transfers: Many developed countries are trying to obfuscate the need for financial transfers. 
• Ineffectiveness of International climate change negotiations as everybody wants to shed its responsibility.
• Poor and developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America are disproportionately bearing the consequences of extreme climatic conditions like excessive hot weather, untimely and excessive rains, flooding.
• Developed countries are not honoring their own commitments and still hold developing countries responsible for emission inflows.

Way forward:

• Along with containing inflows of new GHG emissions, focus should be on reducing the already existing huge stock.
• Principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” : Developed countries who are major carbon emitters should bear the major burden of carbon emissions, they should provide funds to developing countries and facilitate technology transfers to address climate change.
• Climate change is known as the tragedy of the commons. So, every stakeholder should perform their allocated role honestly and with integrity.
• India should commit less in international forums on climate change negotiations, retain the domestic policy space, and deliver more than committed.

Conclusion: India should put pressure on developed countries during the COP meetings on climate change or in other forums like G-20 to make developed countries pay for  climate change.

Article: The Climate Front(Ajay Tyagi)

Article Links: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/what-should-indias-goal-be-during-its-g20-presidency-8221762/

Yojna IAS Daily current affairs eng med 21st Oct

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