Developed countries need to take accountability so developing countries can reinvent their growth strategies
The 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, came to an end on December 13, 2023, with an all-agreed conclusion that several experts termed 'far too weak’ compared to what science mandates to save the world and humanity.
The final draft of the Global Stocktake (GST) said fossil fuels need to be replaced with clean energy. It talks about reaching global Net Zero by 2050 by tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. However, it ignored pleas from scientists and civil society groups urging countries to phase out all fossil fuels in a fair, funded and equitable manner.
So, what do these new decisions mean for India?
India had to swallow a few unpleasant decisions when it came to its coal production. Paragraph 28 and other crucial parts of the GST final draft text called for the phasing down of unabated coal. The draft agreed on global Net Zero by 2050 and did not refer to any country.
The decision is expected to put pressure on countries like India and China, major present-day emitters with far later Net Zero dates. China’s is in 2060, and India’s a decade later.
The Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav, talked in the plenary about “positive collaboration and camaraderie for an action-oriented approach towards a greener and healthier planet” at COP28. Yadav, however, refrained from commenting on any specific issue in the draft.
Experts told Down To Earth that India should work on removing the inefficiencies around coal and consumption, regardless of the outcomes of COPs.
The GST text also called for accelerating and substantially reducing non-carbon-dioxide emissions globally, including in particular methane emissions by 2030; methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil.
The draft also mentions accelerating zero- and low-emission technologies, including renewables, nuclear, abatement and removal technologies such as carbon capture and utilisation and storage (CCUS), particularly in hard-to-abate sectors, and low-carbon hydrogen production.
CCUS involves capturing CO2 from power plants and other industrial processes. But there are problems with CCUS implementation, including technological, economic, institutional, ecological, environmental and socio-cultural barriers, according to the synthesis report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in March 2023.
As the curtain closes on COP28, it is clear that the world is slowly slithering towards solutions. It is clear that developed countries need to take accountability and put money where their mouths are for developing countries to reinvent their growth strategy.
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