Resource war India after 2020

What is the shape our climate-challenged world is in? Rich developed countries have made it clear they are not interested in any talk about their past emissions.

An exercise in flippancy

In December 2009, just before the disastrous climate conference at Copenhagen, environment minister Jairam Ramesh announced a voluntary and unilateral emissions reduction target for the country. He committed a 20-25 per cent reduction in the emissions intensity of the country’s GDP by 2020 below the 2005 levels. A month later, the Planning Commission constituted an Expert Group to prepare a strategy for low-carbon economy.

Poor man’s burden

World leaders applauded the Cancun agreement even though it violated the right of developing countries to grow with an equal access to global carbon space. Bolivia was the only country that pointed out the inequity. When its ambassador to the UN, Pablo Solon, called the deal a step backward, others booed him. Industrialised countries, along with a few emerging economies, pulled the biggest coup in the history of climate change talks: science and the principle of equity were brushed aside.

BASIC distinct

THERE is confusion still about the future of the Copenhagen Accord, the deal reached in Copenhagen in December 2009. While industrialized countries want the accord to be the basis of future negotiations, developing countries, including India and China, are distancing themselves from the accord.

Some sectors perform at the global best levels, others can reach there

This sector has a very high energy-saving potential vis-a-vis best available techniques. However, there is limitation to realise this saving potential because of the process route chosen to make steel and because the plants use coking and non-coking coal with high-ash content and iron ore with high silica and alumina content.