Ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, France has come out in praise for India’s efforts to fight against climate change and take the initiative to promote a greener tomorrow. The international meet which will be held between November and December this year, is intended to get all countries of the world to sign a legally binding agreement to adopt eco-friendly measures to protect Earth from accelerating destruction.
Based on decisions taken during previously held climate change meetings, governments across the globe agreed to disclose their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to combat ecological damage by March 2015. But that’s mostly all talk and little or no action. At the upcoming conference in Paris, a lot of heated debates are likely to arise before any nation willingly signs the ‘legally binding’ deal whose finer points are yet to be determined.
As it is, Counselor at Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, Amit Narang, feels the poor did not cause the global warming problem, but are forced to bear the brunt of it. On the other hand, richer countries which cause harm to the environment on their way to progress, are happy to preach at economically disadvantaged ones. The subject of the developed world’s historical responsibility for climate change has not yet been settled.
Narang was particularly harsh on new proposals to tackle climate change and sustainable development instead of poverty eradication. He also asked richer nations to avoid using the fragile environment as a weapon to prevent poor countries from developing. India’s Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, has insisted in the past that pointing fingers at others’ actions or allotting each one a share of the blame, is not going to produce results either.
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More recently, Javadekar claimed it was too late for governments to demand a change in the basic structure of the agenda agreed upon, in reaction to requests for alterations in the agreement. Business Standard reports (via IANS) that the French ambassador for climate change negotiations, Laurence Tubiana, commends India’s efforts to set an example by increasing the renewable energy target from 20,000MW to 100,000MW by 2022.