Explainer | COP26 and India’s stand on global climate crisis

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a roundtable meeting during the G20 summit in Rome, Italy (REUTERS/Remo Casilli)

The ongoing global climate summit in the UK began on October 31 with the hope to signal a turning point for the planet – a moment when world leaders would turn their unfulfilled promises of the past into concrete actions for the future.

The 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will continue till November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.

“A critical milestone in our efforts to avert climate catastrophe,” United Nations Secretary General António Guterres had said in February.

This year’s summit is significant as it expected to discuss the status of the climate finance promises made by the developed nations to the developing nations – a topic of much priority for India.

“Glasgow is the place, and 2021 is the time,” US climate envoy John F Kerry proclaimed in a speech earlier this year.

COP26 at a glance

COP26 is expected to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC. As part of the Paris accord, every country agreed to communicate or update their emissions reduction targets — their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) — every five years to reflect their highest possible ambition, and a progression over time.

These targets set out how far countries plan to reduce emissions across their entire economy and/or in specific sectors. The year 2020 marked the end of the first five-year cycle. At Glasgow, countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net-zero by the middle of the century.

Already more than 130 countries have set or are considering a target of reducing emissions to net-zero by mid-century. Businesses and investors have followed suit, with over 2,100 of the world’s largest corporations having set net-zero goals under the UN-backed ‘Race to Zero’ campaign, while asset managers have pledged to deliver net-zero emission portfolios by mid-century at the latest.

Vowing to take action in combating climate change reflecting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies on October 31 reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement goal to hold the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

What is net-zero?

In essence, net-zero means achieving a balance between the greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere, and those taken out. But, even as the pressure for countries, and corporations to commit to more ambitious net-zero targets builds up, there has been fierce criticism about the concept of net-zero pledges. Critics point out that any commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 are fraudulent if they allow expansion of coal, oil and gas and do not include drastic, and immediate, cuts in current fossil fuel use.

The India angle

Among the issues India is set to raise includes compensation or losses caused by climate disasters. India’s sherpa at G20 Summit Piyush Goyal at a briefing on the deliberations said India is joined by many other developing countries to push for safeguarding interest of the developing world.

“We have really got into the text of the language that confirms that the developed world has acknowledged that they have not done enough in terms of meeting their commitments and that they will have to be more forthcoming in providing finance in providing technology and (be) the enablers to make the transition to a clean energy world in future,” Goyal said.

In a statement ahead of a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Boris Johnson, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that India is among the top countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy, wind and solar energy capacity.

“At the WLS, I will share India’s excellent track record on climate action and our achievements. I will also highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues, including equitable distribution of carbon space, support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience building measures, mobilisation of finance, technology transfer and importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth,” he said.

India has refused to set net-zero emission goals under the UN-backed ‘Race to Zero’ campaign, stating that developed nations have “far exceeded their share” of the carbon budget.

Here are the talking points at a glance:

– Compensation for losses caused by climate disasters: India is set to raise the topic of compensation to developing nations for the losses caused by climate disasters. The environment ministry said that India stands with other low-income and developing nations on the matter and the compensation clause will be negotiated at the COP26.

Under the Copenhagen Accord, developed countries committed to a goal of mobilising $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries mitigate climate change.

“Our ask is this: There should be a compensation for expenses incurred, and it should be borne by developed nations," said Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as quoted by Bloomberg.

India has reiterated that the countries responsible for climate change should finance what they have committed to and make technology available at an affordable cost.

– Net-zero not the way ahead: India’s Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav on August 8 said that developed countries have usurped far more than their fair share of the global carbon budget, adding that net-zero alone is not enough. “It is the cumulative emissions up to net-zero that determine the temperature that is reached. India’s cumulative and per capita current emissions are significantly low and far less than its fair share of global carbon budget,” he pointed out.

Despite mounting international pressure, India’s environment secretary RP Gupta also reiterated that net zero was “not the solution” to the climate crisis. “It is how much carbon you are going to put in the atmosphere before reaching net zero that is more important,” Gupta said.

– Financing a concern: India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said climate financing continues to be an area of worry. She flagged concerns over funding mechanism and technology transfer after concluding meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

“From my side of course one of the issues that I did raise was... We actually don’t know if there were any measures given... If money spent on a particular project by somebody will be part of that $100 billion,” Sitharaman said.

“So, what constitutes $100 billion? How do we measure if actually $100 billion has been given or only some of it has been given? So, not just that $100 billion per year is coming or not but how do we measure that it is indeed coming or not, is also one of the issues,” she said.

Sitharaman said several participants both in the IMF and the World Bank meetings highlighted funding and transfer of technology as issues.

– Population a key hurdle: Minister of State (MoS) for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey said it is “not easy” to ensure development, clean air and climate action for such huge population. “India’s population has increased and we need to control it as it is not easy for a country with such a huge population to ensure its development and provide clean air to all people, along with keeping in check the impacts of climate change,” he said.

Optimism – a failure in perception of reality?

Indians are the world’s most optimistic people about averting a climate crisis within their lifetimes, according to the Epson Global Survey on Climate Reality. It showed 73.4 percent Indians are “very” or “somewhat” optimistic, while globally, 46 percent of the respondents showed such optimism.

India has the highest “climate reality deficit” in the world, a significant gap between perceptions of climate change and the severity of the situation, the report said. It added that optimism in India is driven by the opportunity to use science and technology to solve problems (31.9 percent), lack of awareness of climate change dangers (26.4 percent) and the ability to move away from fossil fuels to renewable sources (21.4 percent).

In India, only 11.4 percent claim to be ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ pessimistic as against 27 percent of respondents worldwide. Additionally, 4.1 percent of respondents do not believe that there is a climate emergency at all; the US tops the list here of climate deniers at 11 percent.

Criticism for COP26

Criticism that more has to be done are flying in from all fronts. Greenpeace International on October 31 demanded a faster and more ambitious action plan in response to the climate emergency and COVID-19, saying the G20 Summit failed to confront the global crisis. Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said that the G20 Summit’s communique was “weak and lacked ambition and vision”.

While UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed a mixed verdict on climate change agreements reached at the G20 summit, saying he hopes for more ambitious commitments at Glasgow. “I leave Rome with my hopes unfulfilled, but at least they are not buried. Onwards to COP26 in Glasgow to keep the goal of 1.5 degrees alive and to implement promises on finance and adaptation for people and planet,” Guterres tweeted.

From the domestic front, Greenpeace India Executive Director Binu Jacob called for tough decisions to address climate change. “South Asia, including India, is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. The latest IPCC report is suggestive that India might experience more frequent extreme weather events. It is an undeniable fact that anthropogenic emissions have direct correlation with climate,” he said.

“India has to take tough decisions to address climate issues at the same time, it is the need for the developed countries to step up and take more responsibilities that help developing countries in climate adaptation and mitigation. The vulnerable countries and regions cannot afford to pay the price for the impact of climate change for the historical wrongs done,” Jacob said.

(With inputs from agencies)