Controversial LCA Text

The revised draft is shorter by a page. But what is more important is that a key component of the earlier draft, that is dear to the developing world seems to have been ignored. Common but differentiated responsibility, a keystone of the Convention seems amiss in the body of the draft, although it does find a passing mention in its preamble. This means that the distinction between developed and developing countries has been removed in this draft and all nations will have same level of commitments; a huge departure from the framework convention, Kyoto protocol and the Bali Action Plan.

In para 1 the draft it says, “The shared vision for long term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions, shall guide and enhance the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention in order to achieve its objectives as set out in its Article 2.” This can be easily translated as every country, whether developed or developing taking on emission cuts, while ignoring historical responsibility of the industrialised countries.

In contrast the Bali action plan talks about common but differentiated responsibility, with due stress given to rich nations as the perpetrators of the climate fiasco because of their historical emissions. The new draft put all countries rich or poor on an even keel, to reduce emission, even if they were not responsible for what has already been emitted.

The negotiations are still on and unless the negotiators of the developing world, and more so India, catch on can turn this into a fiasco and get these dangerous paras removed or, at least bracketed, from the draft text.

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