Germany supports India's bid for adaptation over mitigation

In a significant shift from its previous stand, Germany Wednesday supported India's bid for achieving an equal balance between mitigation and adaptation to combat climate change.

In view of India's low per capita carbon emissions, Germany also agreed that expectations from India could not be the same as that from China, the top emitter of greenhouse gases, with respect to rolling back the emission.

"First we were opposed...now we agree with India's position because different countries have different needs," German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told the media here.

"I fully agree, it is the question of mitigation and adaptation for a country such as India which has a low per capita carbon emissions...So it's difficult to impose mitigation obligation in such circumstances," said Hendricks, who also holds portfolios of nature conservation, building and nuclear safety.

"You (India) need the opportunity to adapt as well. It's first role is to focus on adaptation and then on mitigation. India has a different role than China," the German minister said.

Climate change mitigation involves actions like the use of renewable energies and clean energy technology to cut down emission of greenhouse gases, while adaptation refers to the steps taken for dealing with pre-existing effects of climate change.

In view of the country's growth imperative that calls for expansion of its energy needs, India has long been contending for an equal distribution of $10 billion green climate fund (GCF) between needs for mitigation and adaptation.

The GCF, which is yet to receive the promised amount of $10 billion, has been created to help countries like India to combat climate change.

Describing the ministerial-level talks between the two countries as "fruitful", union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said: "Germany was earlier of the opinion that it (India's focus) has to be all mitigation-centric. But once they were convinced, they decided adaptation will also be part of it."

Therefore, it was decided that India would be able to channelise 50 percent of the GCF towards mitigation and the rest all be for its needs to adapt with the effects of climate change, he said.

Hendricks said: "$10 billion have been paid in the GCF and it's in the interest of India to use its 50 percent in mitigation and the other to that of adaptation."