The panellists deliberated on issues that confronted
India on the climate change
front. Leading the discussion, Mr. Vijai Sharma, who is also the Chief
Negotiator for the country at all meetings of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), presented an overview of the avenues that
are open to India to mitigate the impacts of climate change. In particular, he
mentioned the potential of the CleanDevelopment Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention, which he felt could be a viable vehicle for developing countries to assist the global action to mitigate climate change and also contribute to the process of sustainable development. In the process, Mr. Sharma discussed the other climate negotiations and the role that India had played therein. He also elaborated upon the institutional framework and the action required to deal with these issues.
Other important issues related to Climate Change and UNFCCC for developing countries which came to the fore were - the greater vulnerability of developing countries to climate change impacts; lack of data and information for modelling their sensitivities; and their poor adaptation skills. Article 12.8 of the Kyoto Protocol, therefore, has made a provision for an adaptation fund for developing countries.
Sustainable development of developing countries is a very important component of all these mechanisms. The projects taken up under the CDM shall lead to the sustainable development of the developing countries. The potential areas where the interventions may be made are the power sector, fossil fuels and vehicular pollution. The projects in these sectors may target at renovation and modernisation; reduction in consumption; reduction in Transmission & Distribution losses; fuel switching, up-gradation of Euro norms etc.
Mr Sharma then discussed about the CDM, one of the three mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. He mentioned that CDM is a link between domestic actions and actions taken up off shore. Mr Sharma also dealt with the most important issues of Carbon Emission Reductions in CDM. He mentioned that these projects shall be supplemental to domestic actions and should go through a sound designing mechanism. The baseline should be very thorough. The projects should also ensure participation of the private sector.
According to him, a large potential for financial and technological inflow through CDM projects lies in the field of renewable sources of energy. He has also suggested a project cycle to be followed up by CDM projects. Various steps in this cycle include identification and implementation of project activity, monitoring, verification and certification of emission reductions. Mr. Sharma expressed the hope that the next CoP at Hague, during November 2000, may trigger the Protocol.
The Indian industry perspective was put forth by Mr. V Raghuraman, Senior Advisor–CII. According to Mr. Raghuraman, at the growth rate of seven percent per annum of Indian Industry, a large part of the capital stock will be replaced by new ones in a very short time. The government and the industry have, therefore, to see that the new products are environment-friendly. He felt that there were "risks involved with the decisions taken with respect to the transfer of technologies", referring to the fact that the choice of development patterns for a developing country precedes the chosen mix of technologies for growth.
He encouraged foreign direct investments (FDIs) through climate change mechanisms as the CDM had the potential to generate higher output levels and facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs). He raised his concern regarding the present patterns of energy consumption programmes that are based on coal, which is a polluting agent, apart from being a non-renewable source of energy.
Other concerns of Indian industry, voiced by Mr. Raghuraman, referred to the fact that FDIs and such other Joint Ventures between the North and the South, or even between the Southern nations would involve significant levels of transaction costs. There was a felt need to cluster smaller size projects, a fact often referred to as ‘bundling’ of projects, which would bring down the cost of transactions as a percentage of the net turnover. Finally, Mr Raghuraman exhorted the policy makers to keep in mind the developmental priorities for the country while negotiating for the Indian industry in the global circles.
Prof. P S Ramakrishnan, JNU, opined that Climate Change should not be looked upon in isolation, but from an interdisciplinary viewpoint. He felt that as the population of the country rises, greater numbers are marginalised. Hence, the pace of development has to be faster than what is required to ensure that the basic amenities of life be provided to a larger segment of the population. He showed his concern that not much work has been done on the food security front. He also stressed upon the conservation of traditional ecological knowledge in the larger interest of humanity. He felt that the marginal sections of society, who are the worst hit by any form of global change, need to be empowered and uplifted. There is a lot to be learnt from the marginalised and ethnic groups in India, Prof. Ramakrishnan added.
Dr. Khosla put forth the point of view of NGOs. He drew attention towards the impact of climate change on humans and the ecosystem. People living in the coastal regions in developing countries will face the maximum impact of climate change as they are the ones who are the worst equipped to combat such adversities.
Regarding the international efforts to mitigate the climate change, Dr. Khosla cautioned that there are strong commercial interests in industrialized countries for selling technologies to developing countries. Technology transfer should, therefore, be carried out carefully and the negotiators need to keep an eye on the development priorities and strategies of the developing countries. As such, there is a "need for prioritization or even some fundamental re-thinking of the issues that confront society". This process, felt Dr. Khosla, would not only speed up the negotiation process globally, but also make it much more meaningful.
Mr. Klaus Töpfer pointed out that there is a high correlation between economic development and environmental issues and these can’t be separated. Economic development could give a chance to improve the environment. According to Mr. Töpfer, emissions are related to the age of the capital stock. If the technology is old, and more importantly outdated and inefficient, the resulting emissions will be very high. Conversely, a developing world will have a chance to leapfrog and import newer and cleaner technologies which will also prove to be more efficient, leading finally to higher growth levels and a development that is sustainable, felt Mr. Töpfer.
He then referred to the inconsistency in the present incentive structure between the entities who are the prime emitters of greenhouse gases and the ones who suffer the effects from those emissions. He pointed out that the worst sufferers are the least offenders in more instances than not, which presented a strong case for the provision of adaptation expenses and such other benefits for developing countries. This was one of the primary issues of concern in the various climate negotiations which have been trying to devise a more equitable ‘polluter pays’ principle, without being too biased on either side.
The donor countries think that a good way to allocate the money for climate change mitigation is by giving it to the most cost-effective projects for the reduction of the GHGs. In the short, medium and longer terms, the cost-benefit results could vary a lot. Providing incentives for using good technologies in a country may have catalytic results in terms of providing incentives that will appeal to the entrepreneurs.
Since coal in India is so abundant, it is important to increase the efficiency of coal utilisation. He also proposed setting up an international solar energy organization, analogous to the world nuclear energy organization.
Responding to the wide plethora of issues that were raised, the panellists were of the opinion that enough publicity should be given and awareness generated among the stakeholders about these issues. They agreed upon the capacity building at micro as well as macro levels. The panellists opined that the Indian entrepreneurs may prefer a bilateral approach rather than a global one. Shri Sharma, MoEF, stressed upon sensitising the state governments and felt that awareness on these issues shall penetrate the villages. Mr. Raghuraman informed that the CII wanted to introduce newer technologies to take the country towards a cleaner environment, for which the pre-condition was a pro-active support. He informed that the state of Andhra Pradesh was a prime example wherein the Chandrababu Naidu Government had a distinct vision for the national development. He, however, stressed on the right kind of technologies and maintained that any kind of technology would not fill the bill. Mr. Töpfer also underlined the importance of motivating the private sector. He stressed upon the thorough certification of the project activity and a visible and effective role by the developing countries. q
