India: No to Emission Reduction Targets, Yes to International Funding

During Secretary Clinton’s visit, India once again made it clear that it will not agree to mandatory emission reduction targets since in doing so it could potentially jeopardize its endeavor to eliminate poverty. However, the Indian government reiterated its previous stance that it will pursue expansion of renewable energy infrastructure.

India’s minister for environment and forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, disappointed Secretary Clinton by saying that climate change and poverty alleviation are linked to each other and that his government was not willing to pass on the burden economic burden of the mitigation measures on to its poor and middle class which form more than 50 percent of the population.

India may have agreed to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2°C but like the developed nations it too failed to come up with plans on how to achieve that goal. The Indian government maintains that given its low per capita emissions it would be unfair if it is asked to adopt carbon emission reduction goals; developed countries, some which have per capita emissions almost 20 times that of India’s, should take far greater responsibility in cutting carbon emissions. Calling for an equitable deal on cutting carbon emissions, India frequently reminds the developed nations of their historical responsibility.

Developing countries like India and China had urged developed countries to adopt the recommendations put forward by the International Panel on Climate Change. The panel had called noted that to effectively mitigate the adverse effects of climate change the global carbon emissions need to be reduced by 25 to 20 percent. Since the developed countries have shown no eagerness to adopt any such emission reduction targets the developing countries too have openly refused to adopt even minor emission cuts, thus jeopardizing the fate of the December scheduled Copenhagen talks.

India on its part claims that it has been doing its fair bit. The Indian Prime Minister unveiled a National Action Plan last year which included eight points to tackle the environmental problems of the country and had great emphasis on the use of solar energy. India has also unveiled plans to boost solar energy capacity from current 2 MW to 20,000 MW by 2030. However there have been no mentions of the financing to achieve such a gargantuan goal. The Indian Union Budget for financial year 2009-10 also failed to provide any funds for any renewable energy projects.

India has made it clear that the developed countries should honor their promises made at the 2007 Bali climate conference and form an international Adaptation Fund which would help developing and poor countries get access to monetary and technological support as they try to switch to cleaner energy systems.

One of the issues that the developed and developing countries are at loggerheads is the timing of the monetary help. India maintains that the it should receive financial assistance, through Clean Development Mechanism or any other scheme agreed up on at Copenhagen, to set up clean energy projects whereas, the developed countries want the developing countries to first set up the projects, produce satisfactory results and then apply for assistance.

It is clear that the Indian government would resist emission reduction goals using the per capita argument and would push the the developed countries for monetary assistance and would announce any concrete plans for renewable energy projects only after a funding deal is reached at the Copenhagen talks.

Photo: Nupilein (Creative Commons)