India expects compensation from developing nations to meet ‘net zero’

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

In the upcoming COP26 climate summit that is scheduled to take place at Glasgow on Nov 1, the focus on making the meet a success is to have all nations commit to a ‘net zero’.

But India has other plans.

While India hasn’t entirely ruled out on the possibility of agreeing to a ‘net zero’ target, it wants developed nations to accept its demands on making good on previous commitments.

India is seeking payment for the losses caused by climate disasters, its environment ministry said while laying out the country’s positions on critical issues.

According to sources, earlier it was agreed upon to pay an annual $100 billion to developing countries for mitigating the impacts of climate change, facilitating technology transfer and putting in place a tangible market-based mechanism to activate the moribund carbon credit markets.

On Friday, 22 October, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, the ministry’s senior-most civil servant said, “Our ask is this: there should be a compensation for expenses incurred, and it should be borne by developed nations”

He added that India stands with other and developing countries on the matter.

A study by the think tank Council for Energy Environment and Water projects that for India to achieve net-zero target even by 2070, usage of coal especially for power generation would need to peak by 2040 and drop by 99% between 2040 and 2060. And, the consumption of crude oil across sectors would also need to peak by 2050 and fall substantially by 90% between 2050 and 2070.

India’s long term position in climate talks has always been that it will eschew the use of fossil fuel use but only gradually because it cannot compromise on development, that is now primarily reliant on coal.

Compensation for climate disasters is expected to be a major sticking point at the talks, and the subject is something that India has already raised with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, according to Gupta. Rich countries have added the majority.

The 2015 Paris climate agreement included language to address “loss and damage,” but it left questions about liability and redress unanswered. Discussions began as early as 2013 at a previous summit in Warsaw, but the technical details of how such money transfers occur still hasn’t been thrashed out.

The broad idea is that, based on historical contributions to global greenhouse gases, countries will provide compensation for the damages that pollution will one day cause. Countries that suffer climate impacts can then lay claim to money for repairs after a climate-fueled hurricane or flood. But not all disasters are caused by climate change, and scientists have only recently begun the hard work of being able to calculate how much a warmer planet contributed to an extreme weather event.

India is the world’s third-largest emitter on an annual basis today and among the top ten historical emitters, which means it too will have to contribute money into the pot. Even if India’s pay-in for damages were roughly 4%, the country would stand to get a larger pay-out for the losses it will incur, Gupta said. “If they want India to be a part, we may be willing,” he added.

The country is the only economy among the world’s 10 largest not to have set a goal to zero out its emissions. Even its neighbor China has one for 2060, slightly later than the 2050 target that the U.S., the U.K. and the EU are aiming for. Earlier this year, India considered setting a net-zero goal, but it has since backed out. Not all nations need to announce a net-zero target before Glasgow, according to environment minister Bhupender Yadav.

“Climate finance hasn’t come in,” said Gupta. “For more ambitious climate goals, let there be more finance’’ first.

This issue is set to be another talking point at the summit. Developed countries were supposed to provide $100 billion in climate finance to developing countries annually, starting in 2020. The money would be used for projects that reduce emissions and help countries adapt to warming. The latest figure stands at about $90 billion, and the hopes for the full commitment are dimming as the Glasgow conference approaches.

As with past COP meetings, India’s delegation also plans to bring up the point of fairness. The country’s annual per capita emissions stand at about two tons of carbon dioxide, compared to more than 16 tons for the U.S. and less than half of the global per capita average.

The recent energy crunch — marked by soaring natural gas prices — has also given India ammunition to continue using coal, the only fossil fuel which it has in abundance. That’s going to be a problem for the U.K., the host country, with COP26 President Alok Sharma having said that the Glasgow talks could “consign coal to history.”