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By Rashme Sehgal Shyam Saran, the Indian government’s key negotiator on climate change, explains India’s polluter-pays stand on climate change in international negotiations
 Shyam Saran, special envoy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has emerged as the government’s key negotiator for a wide range of issues, from the contentious nuclear deal, to climate change, to holding strategic discussions with the newly-sworn-in Maoist government in Nepal, to even talking to separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, Saran says the issue that remains closest to his heart is working towards ensuring that governments around the world, including India, adhere to bringing carbon dioxide emissions down to 1990 levels as spelt out at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. He admits that the government is negotiating new international carbon emission levels that are to be fixed after 2012. Drawing a parallel between global negotiations to tackle climate change and nuclear negotiations, Saran maintains that an issue as immediate as climate change should not, like the new nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), end up dividing the world into haves and have-nots. Instead, the Kyoto Protocol which has asked all developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions should be adopted as the benchmark for nation states. You have been demanding a level playing field for developing and developed countries on the issue of climate change.
There is only limited carbon space which developed countries have already ‘occupied’, leaving only a tiny portion for developing countries. If I am to grow, then my emissions will rise. That’s inevitable. They are basically telling us that since we are latecomers, we cannot increase our share.
India advocates equity in global climate change negotiations and will continue to reject the argument that India and China must first make the effort to cut their carbon emissions. Looking at historical emissions of carbon dioxide from 1850 to 2000, it was the US that led with 30%, the European Union with 27.2%, and China with 7.3%, whilst India accounted for only 2%. India’s stand in international negotiations is based on the simple principle: the polluter pays.
The stand of developed nations is: ‘I get to keep what I have because I came first and you have to fall in line because you are a latecomer.’ The European Union is creating all kinds of trade barriers against us. But the question I am raising in all these negotiations is whether the lifestyle emissions of developed nations can be pitted against the survival emissions of developing countries that are now enjoying the fruits of economic growth. I wonder whether electricity provided to light up the homes of 600 million Indians should be equated with asking German motorists to reduce their speed on the autobahns.
A few developed countries have attempted to avoid their legal obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the Kyoto Protocol by arguing that India and China remain outside the emissions regime. But these efforts will make little difference. India does not consider itself to be a major emitter by way of total volume. But India’s carbon emissions are increasing…
Developed countries may claim that India is a major emitter of carbon dioxide, but India emits about 1.1 tonnes per capita while the corresponding figure for the US is more than 20 tonnes. Of course this does not mean that our industries should not keep abreast of government policies on climate change.
When the Rio Summit was held in 1992, it spoke about a global challenge that had to be dealt with by all nations. The entire global community recognised that this was a challenge that had risen over a certain historical period. If we are going to follow a path of sustainable development, we will have to be assisted in this. If they are opening up the market and I am going to grow, then my emissions will rise. Nevertheless, we are in the process of holding multilateral negotiations, and different working groups have been formed with all our partners. Developing nations insist that we cannot accept their conditionalities because from the beginning this has not been a level playing field. So how are we planning to handle the issue of rising emissions?
We have been stressing the equity argument all along. That does not mean that we are not interested in tackling this whole issue. The West has to transfer funds and technology so that we can work to curtail our carbon emissions. How much of India’s GDP is currently being spent on adapting to climate change?
It has been calculated that India is spending 2-2.5% of its GDP on adaptation to climate change. The question is how to take this forward. We are currently working on the Bali Action Plan of 2007 which reaffirms all the UN Framework Conventions. We are also keen to negotiate a new protocol to help us enhance this implementation. The key issue (for us) is how to better implement these targets. There is international recognition of the fact that, as climate change takes place, if we don’t take remedial action developing countries will be the worst hit. We have to adapt ourselves at all levels -- have better healthcare organisations and better preventive care medicines in place. Our agriculture has to become more drought-resistant otherwise our food security will be affected. It is our national responsibility that we go in for sustainable development right away. Are you holding discussions with other developing countries?
India has been holding intensive discussions on this subject with other countries like the Chinese, Brazilians, South Africans, small island states, and least developed countries (LDCs). We have low-lying coastal areas that could be affected. But this whole area is new and we do not have past procedures to go by. That is why it’s taking time. How is climate change linked to this sudden demand for nuclear fuel?
Climate change has resulted in a recognition of nuclear fuel as a clean form of energy. We are working on developing a national energy policy that will be out next month. We cannot depend only on domestic capabilities; we need to access foreign sources of energy. Is the nuclear deal on?
I hope so. The Indo-US civil nuclear deal will allow us to have a wide choice of partners in pursuing nuclear commerce and in having high technology trade. But our strategic weapons programme will continue to remain fully autonomous. This means that our strategic weapons programme will remain outside the purview of any international safeguards regime or any form of external scrutiny. We will be allowed to develop and produce weapons without being constrained in any manner. We also retain the legal right to conduct a nuclear test at any time in the future. Are we ready to accept permanent safeguards as envisioned by the IAEA?
Our position from the outset has been that we have no problem with permanent safeguards provided there are permanent supplies of (nuclear) fuel. Storage of nuclear fuel is very hazardous and must be proceeded with in a very careful manner. What about the whole issue of reprocessing?
There is a debate on about whether we can reprocess this stuff. The radioactive stuff is chipped off in different streams and then some of it is let off into the atmosphere. The storage of nuclear fuel is very hazardous. Disposing of nuclear waste is also difficult and presently it is being stored in vitrified glass containers that are kept in water tanks. But it is one of the cleanest forms of energy and that is why countries are hoping to use it. You say we are in the process of preparing a national energy plan which will be released next month.
We are formulating India’s national plan on climate change, to be released next month. It constitutes a strategy for sustainable development and will include major national-level missions such as a solar mission, a national solid waste management plan, a nationwide effort to create a huge carbon sink of afforested land, a water conservation mission. We also hope to adopt the best practices and efficiency norms that have been set in place internationally for a range of key industries. All these will be executed on the basis of public and private partnerships. InfoChange News & Features, May 2008
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