Prakash Javadekar has asked developed nations to fix their pre-2020 targets much before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris is convened. The Minister for State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change made this statement while speaking at the Sixth Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin. He also added that India wants to see a balanced and realistic agreement between countries based on trust.
Javadekar even expressed the urgency of kicking into operation the Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage, by the year 2016. The program is meant to address loss and damage related to the adverse effects of climate change especially in countries like Bangladesh which are most vulnerable to shifting environmental conditions. Nations like the US that are historically responsible for high levels of greenhouse gas emissions on their way to development, are expected to share in the efforts towards saving the Earth.
Asking developing countries like India and China to keep industrialization in check goes against the principle of everyone having the right to equal access to natural resources. Javadekar feels that by taking the necessary pre-2020 actions, developed nations can create the carbon space needed for the developing world to catch up. The objective of the 2015 climate change conference in Paris is to get governments across the globe to sign a legally binding and universal deal. But this will not happen unless all parties agree to contribute fairly to the agenda.
Javadekar claims it would be be ironical for participating countries to decided up on a post-2020 architecture without finalizing pre-2020 plans. Since the discussion about climate change always brings up heated debates regarding the historical responsibility of developed nations and their unfair expectations of how poorer regions should handle industrialization in the face of global warming, the Minister has also mentioned that the Paris conference should not be about pointing fingers at others’ actions or sharing the blame, if any progress is to be made.
Also see: Hard to balance industrialization and climate change, say India and China
India has already revealed plans to produce 175 gigawatts of renewable energy and started a program called Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles. The cess on coal has been increased to Rs 200 per ton and the amount collected through this fund is being invested in clean technologies. LPG will reach poor families to reduce the dependence on firewood for fuel. Various projects related to solar energy, green cities, afforestation for building more carbon sinks, monitoring of pollution levels of certain industries, have also been launched.
Now it’s time for developed countries to stop preaching and at least be quick to present pre-2020 targets they are committed towards before the Paris climate change conference which is to take place in fall of 2015.