Inking the truth | Shivang Satya Gupta | Editor-in-
Chief
The date to finally ink the global pact on climate change is approaching fast in December this year but most of the countries are yet to agree on the final draft due to sharp differences over what many developing countries call as biased attitude of the developed nations who have contributed more to the green house emissions on the Earth. The final pact which the United Nations wants to ink in December however seems a hard nut to crack and definitely not easy given the issues that remain yet to be resolved even as threat of climate change is looming large on this world which may severely affect the human race. Even though there are many quarters who feel that nuclear pileup in the world was more dangerous than the climate change in near future but those fighting for bringing some change to the green house emissions believe time is running out to draft the final pact on climate even as Nuclear pileup can be handled by the United nations separately being within the reach of human interference. Come Monday and 195-nation UN climate talks would resume where rank and file diplomats gather in Bonn to lay the foundation for a global climate pact to be inked in December, indicates The Budapest Report The Report further says that, “Dozens of issues have stymied the negotiations, now into their third decade under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). All countries agree that greenhouse-gas emissions which drive warming must be curbed. But by how much is the bone of contention? The UN has endorsed a ceiling of two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels. But poor countries and low-lying, small-island states — which will be hit first and hardest by climate change — say 2.0 C is not good enough, and favour a tougher goal of 1.5 C (2.4 F). However to have a 50/50 shot at 2 C, global CO2 emissions must peak by 2025 and drop dramatically thereafter. By 2050, humans must no longer be adding CO2 to the atmosphere. The 1992 UNFCCC charter enshrines a principle that rich countries historically caused the problem, and should do more to fix it. That divide was entrenched in the Kyoto Protocol which went into force in 2005 and placed emissions-curbing targets on industrialized nations only — excluding the United States which did not sign up. But much has changed since then as fast-growing China and India have become the world’s No. 1 and No. 4 carbon emitters, and others who were labeled “developing” countries 25 years ago, have since scaled the economic ladder. At the same time, the European Union and United States have slowed their carbon pollution. Whether, or to what extent, the original “differentiated responsibilities” principle should be abandoned or modified is hugely contentious in determining how to set emissions goals, verification rules, and the flow of financial aid. One of the few concrete decisions to come out of the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen was a pledge from rich economies to muster $100 billion (89 billion euros) per year in financial support for poor countries, starting from 2020. Some of that money will help poor and developing countries adopt technology to curb their own emissions. The rest will be earmarked for measures to adapt to climate impacts, like rising seas and spreading deserts, which can no longer be avoided. Where that money will come from and how it will be distributed still has to be worked out. More recently, least-developed countries, small-island and developing states have presented an additional demand for compensation for climate “loss and damage” to come — a non-starter with rich nations. The proposed Paris accord will have as its backbone a roster of voluntary national pledges for reducing carbon emissions. China, the US and the EU – which together account for more than half of global carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution — have already submitted theirs. But scientists say the sum of global commitments is unlikely to meet the 2 C objective. As a result, some countries have proposed putting in place a strict review process, starting in 2020, to see if the 2 C goal is on track and, if not, how countries can ratchet up their contributions.” With such difference and major economic and ‘who-blinksfirst’ issues involved it is unlikely that the final draft on the Green House Emission Control would be accepted by one and all and observers feel that even December might not be the day when the world comes together to save the Earth. However there are many big powers who want to bulldoze their opinion in the UN climate talks which indicates that inking of the pack would not be very easy.(With inputs from The Budapest Report).
