Climate responsibility

India should assert the principles of liability and fairness as the basis for climate action

A few days from now the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Sharm-al-Sheikh, a pleasant sea resort in Egypt. Two issues may play an important role in COP27 — further commitments on global responsibility for loss and damage compensation and some acceleration of commitments on mitigation actions that have already been announced.

The key lies in the term “common but differentiated responsibility”, enshrined in the UNFCCC. The word “responsibility” can be understood in this context in two ways. The first is responsibility as liability for the damage inflicted on