US Back in Spotlight as China, India Increase Pressure by Announcing Aggressive Mitigation Plans
About ten weeks from now leaders from nearly 200 countries will meet in Copenhagen to discuss the next climate treaty. During the last two to three years governments around the world moved to and fro over contentious issues like funding, technology transfer, intellectual property rights and emission reduction targets. As the world started to look for a replacement of the Kyoto Protocol, the start was slow with no sign of urgency even as the UNFCCC recommended a 25 to 40 percent reduction in global carbon emissions by 2020.
But the change at Washington brought a colossal change in the pace of global climate negotiations. The United States had played a vital role in formalization of the Kyoto Protocol but never ratified the same which created a gapping hole in global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. With the failure of Kyoto Protocol acknowledged by almost all it is clear that the we cannot afford to repeat the mistake committed in the past. United States’ commitment to act boldly and swiftly has become the make or break issue for the next climate treaty.
Over the last one year the Obama administration engaged itself in aggressive bilateral negotiations with a number of developing countries like China and Brazil who have now agreed in principle to reduce their carbon emissions. Concentrated negotiations with the Chinese negotiators resulted in the later agreeing to work on a domestic legislation to reduce industrial carbon emissions. Brazil, too, agreed to play its part by ramping up efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon thus increasing its carbon offsetting potential. With cracks showing in the developing countries’ camp India started to feel the pressure and recently announced intentions to introduce a domestic emission reduction law. However, all the developing countries stand firm on their stance of increased funding and easy access to clean technology.
With only weeks to Copenhagen talks the developed countries are yet to announce any aid program to the developing and poor countries and thus the spotlight has now returned to the US which is been looked at by its peers as a path breaker.
Various experts and world leaders have said many times that in absence of a US climate change bill the possibility of an international climate treaty is very low. China being the largest polluter has agreed to reduce its carbon emissions now its the United States that needs to play its part. So far the Obama administration has dragged feet over the issue of financial help to the developing countries, it refused to discuss the issue at G20 forum. The US Congress is yet to approve a climate change bill which sets a 80 percent emission reduction target by 2050, the bill contains no short to medium term targets.
At the United Nations’ meet on Climate Change in New York the Chinese President announced landmark plan to reduce carbon emissions by improving energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy infrastructure to contribute 15 percent of total energy generated by 2020. The announcement came after year long negotiations with the US. With no assurances on financial and technical help and no emission targets announced by the US the Chinese President grabbed the opportunity to pressurize the Obama administration to bring more to the negotiations table at the Copenhagen Talks scheduled for early December.
India’s Environment minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, also for the first time publicly spoke about possibility of a domestic law on reducing carbon emissions. Sources in the government say that the law will take into account the high economic costs associated with reducing carbon emissions and will aim at achieving significant emission reductions without burdening its middle class and poor. The dramatic shift in policy by India came after the resistance by developing countries against mandatory emission cuts started to weather away following China’s renewed stance.
The Obama administration fulfilled its international commitments by persuading developing countries to agree to emission cuts even if they are directed by domestic laws rather than international obligations. So concentrated were the bilateral negotiations with Brazil, India and China that for over a year the United States completely overshadowed the real global environment leader, the European Union. The attention now returns back home with the Climate Change bill, and with that the legislative approval to emission targets and renewable energy targets, awaiting approval of the Congress.
The Indian environment minster once challenged the United States to agree to bold emission targets and then see how India responds with similar measures, now the tables have turned. The United States is up against time and the developing countries. President Obama must assure the world that the Climate Change bill will be successfully approved by the Congress.
At ‘Conference of Parties 15′ at Copenhagen in December the world leaders must agree on significant agreement on reducing carbon emissions. The developing countries have showed that they are willing to reduce their carbon emissions now the United States must come up with a strategy to provide technical and financial support to developing countries.
The views presented in the above article are author’s personal views and do not represent those of TERI/TERI University where the author is currently pursuing a Master’s degree.
[...] fact, recent American actions and position in international negotiations on climate change seem to belie the Nobel committee’s laudatory words. And with the Climate [...]
The protocols that are engaed against the worlds citizens to defeat the economies of the world do everything possible to engage every economy to pay for the Climate Change process that is not as billed,not at all.
A proper science person can nullify any argument the powers that be can put out for their process of carbons creating a process that is actually created off from this Earth.
Because of the process of sequestering actual science information from being taught in this Earths learning institutions,everyone has to suffer the consequences of that program.
No one should jump on to any process without doing their due diligence,which includes checking off from their mainstream agenda topics. Shame on the Universities for looping theirselves into this paradigm with only a few actual “ScienceBoys” running everyone to ground.