Pressure on India to follow China on emissions

China’s decision to voluntarily slow the growth of its carbon emissions, ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit on December 7, appears to have put pressure on India to emulate the example it has set.

Both India and China have been in the same bloc as the Group of 77 countries in climate negotiations. G-77 is actually the 131-member bloc of developing nations. India, China and other large developing nations have, till date, maintained that there cannot be any mandatory emission cuts without financial support and technology transfer from developed nations.

However, China yesterday decided to slow the growth of carbon dioxide per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 40-45 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2020. The move came a day after President Barack Obama announced he would pledge that the US will cut greenhouse gas emissions 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 per cent by 2050.

“India has spoken of domestic cuts and the ministry has been contemplating the move for some time. This step of China may put pressure on us to speed up the process, but the cuts are not legally binding — not under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” says an official close to the development.

He adds: “It almost puts the two countries on the same footing. The important thing is that we don’t accept legally-binding cuts and we don’t allow measurement, reporting and verification of domestic actions. Now that a minister (Jairam Ramesh) is meeting other countries’ ministers in China, the move may put pressure on us to announce some numbers formally.”

Mayank Batra, research analyst for South Asia & West Asia at Environment & Building Technologies, concurs: “The move does put pressure on India.” He, however, adds: “You must note that the cuts are voluntary.”

However, on China’s decision to slow carbon emissions growth by up to 40 per cent by 2020, PTI reports that the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Shyam Saran, explained that (China’s move) did not amount to cutting emissions.

Saran told reporters in Port of Spain that India need not follow what China has decided, as the country already has action plans to shift dependability from carbon-based fuels to renewable energy sources, like nuclear, solar and wind energy.

Saran added that even if no consensus is reached at Copenhagen next month, efforts should continue with an aim of concluding in a time-bound manner the negotiations, as mandated by the UNFCCC. The issue of climate change is going to dominate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Port of Spain, which is being attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Environmental agencies believe that, unlike China, India fights shy of highlighting the efforts it is putting in protecting the environment.

“We seem to have missed the bus in showcasing our domestic actions. We should put on the table whatever actions we are taking as other countries are glorifying whatever little they are doing. We have become loners for reasons not required.

Putting our steps on the table will help the government with some perspective. We don’t need to take binding cuts, but only have to show what we are doing,” says Ritu Mathur, associate director of the energy environment policy division, The Energy and Resources Institute.

Rajendra K Pachauri, head of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, had also told Business Standard recently: “If we are doing things that are good for us, then we must tell the whole world about it and not be bashful of proclaiming so.”

Meanwhile, Jairam Ramesh is in Beijing to meet the environment ministers of China, Brazil and South Africa in an effort to have a co-ordinated position in Copenhagen. As part of the China visit, Ramesh will have a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, besides having discussions with other countries.