Outcome of UN climate summit should be balanced, inclusive: Harsh Vardhan

The outcome of the upcoming UN climate summit in Poland should be "balanced and inclusive", Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan Saturday said.

The minister also asserted that India expects the conference to frame guidelines, which are pragmatic and give due consideration to the challenges and priorities of developing nations.

The 24th meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held at Katowice, Poland from December 2-14.

COP-24 is very significant as it is expected to finalise guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

"India expects that COP-24 should give due consideration to challenges of developing countries inter alia different starting points as compared to developed countries, their vulnerabilities, development priorities like eradication of poverty, food security, energy access, providing health infrastructure etc," the minister said.

"COP-24 should give equal focus to all agenda items, and its outcome should be balanced, inclusive, comprehensive and consistent with the principles and provisions of the convention and its Paris Agreement," he added.

India strongly supports the objective of the Paris Agreement to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"India would like to demonstrate the same spirit of commitment and leadership shown in the past during the COP-24. India's expectation from COP-24 is that the decisions should be in consonance with the principles of UNFCCC, its Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement including equity, CBDR-RC, and climate justice," an official statement said.

The Environment Ministry further said during COP-24, India would like to emphasise its concern for climate change and reaffirm its commitments to finalisation of the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP).

India would also like to ensure that Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), in the light of different national circumstances, are operationalised in all elements of the PAWP.

"The outcome of the PAWP should support the enhancement of ambition without backsliding," it said.

The key concern for India is to ensure that no undue burden is shifted onto developing countries in the post-2020 period, it said.

"The issue of pre-2020 commitments under Kyoto Protocol, particularly higher mitigation action of developed countries and the need for developed countries to fulfil their climate finance commitments of mobilising USD 100 billion per annum by 2020, will remain a priority for India in COP-24," the statement said.

Similarly, on the issue of adaptation, the statement said, India is of the view that enhanced provision of new, adequate and predictable finance, technology development and transfer, as well as capacity-building support, are key enablers for developing countries to achieve higher ambition in their climate actions, in the context of sustainable development.

"Therefore, PAWP must have mechanisms to ensure new, adequate and predictable support for developing country parties," it said.

The final political phase of 2018 Facilitative Talanoa Dialogue (which shares the best practices of nations) and stock take exercise on Pre-2020 implementation and action are also scheduled during COP-24.

"India will be looking forward to a rich exchange of views during the high-level Talanoa dialogue at COP-24, with consideration of pre-2020 actions and support as a crucial element, and its successful conclusion in 2018 as per the agreed modalities.

"India will be working together with all Parties in an open, transparent, inclusive and Party-driven manner to achieve a balanced and comprehensive outcome in the form of final PAWP at COP-24," the statement maintained.

"India's climate actions are synchronised with its development goals and simultaneously reflect its bold vision for combating climate change," the statement said.

On the sidelines of COP-24, India will be setting up a pavilion to create awareness about its positive climate actions in various sectors of the economy.

The theme of this year's India Pavilion is 'One World One Sun One Grid' as highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the first assembly of the International Solar Alliance on October 2, 2018, the statement said.

Harsh Vardhan will inaugurate the pavilion on December 3 and will also release India's second Biennial Update Report, it added.

India will also hold side events from December 3-13 at the pavilion, it said.

There will be around 20 sessions, covering issues related to sectors important for climate change adaptation and mitigation, it added.