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India says no to review of domestic pledge on climate change
December 7, 2014, 8:11 am

The twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) is being held from 1 to 12 December 2014 in Lima, Peru [Image: UN]

The twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) is being held from 1 to 12 December 2014 in Lima, Peru [Image: UN]

New Delhi on Sunday said it is opposed to a review mechanism to determine if all pledges by countries were enough to ward off the devastating impacts of a warming world.

India does not support an ex-ante review of its intended nationally determined contributions as it is an issue of sovereignty, said Susheel Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Indian Ministry of Environment who is the interim head of the Indian delegation.

Intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) are domestic plans of action to combat climate change.

Most countries will announce their “reduction targets” or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in Q1 next year. These will then become a patchwork quilt of INDCs knit into one international agreement in Paris.

Following the initial submission of INDCs, there will be an assessment phase to review countries’ INDCs and possibly adjust them before the Paris Climate Summit (COP 21).

India is also opposed to an external mechanism to review targets it sets under the INDC. New Delhi will submit its INDC to the UN in June 2015.

Questions of a review process for these INDCs is a sticking point to be worked out in the negotiations.

The EU and South Africa are among parties who support implementing some sort of review mechanism into the 2015 Paris agreement. ??They have demanded that the actions submitted by nations under the 2015 agreement be reviewed for their adequacy and equity-based burden-sharing; and if need be, reviewed to meet the requirements of keeping global temperatures under check.

Technology transfer and funds for climate mitigation adaptation are some key demands of India and other developing countries.

Meanwhile, the Indian envoy has said “the skeleton” of INDC requirements should be constructed before countries leave Lima.

In a statement, the Climate Action Network International said: “The EU, Canada, the US, New Zealand and Australia deleted detailed references in the draft text related to a review or a revisit of their existing commitments in the pre-2020 period.”

It will certainly be a hurdle that developing countries will push hard to clear, it said.

Environment Minister Prakash Javedkar will represent India at the talks.

On the third day of the climate summit in the Peruvian capital of Lima, India said rich nations cannot be absolved of their past “sins” and that they should compensate developing nations for the effects their greenhouse gas emissions have had on climate.

It is “not equitable to talk about what a country is emitting now” because that country could be currently reducing their emissions.

“This fact does not absolve them [rich nations] of all [past] sins,” said Indian envoy Kumar.

Differences have also emerged between China and Australia in Lima as Beijing says all developed countries must aid poorer nations in tackling climate change while Canberra has said there should be a common playing field for all countries.

Over 190 nations are negotiating new limits on greenhouse gas in a UN conference in Lima, the capital of Peru.

 

TBP and Agencies