Global climate accord must include carbon budget, says India
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Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh reiterated that India would not accept an international climate treaty that did not have at its base the principles of equity and equitable access to global atmospheric space
A global climate accord must include the principle of a climate budget that is shared between nations based on their historical emissions, and India will push for it during the next six months in the run-up to the climate change conference in Cancun later this year.
Scientists say a carbon budget is needed to measure greenhouse gas output in 2020 and 2050, and determine how much countries are entitled to emit within that budget.
“India will be the biggest beneficiary with a carbon budget because the country has been slow in its growth,” Ramesh said. “We are a creditor, not a debtor. We have not used carbon space like the developing countries.”
In Mumbai for a conference on global carbon budgets at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Ramesh said: “India cannot and will not accept any international agreement which does not have its foundation on principles of equity and equitable access to global atmospheric space.” China, South Africa and Brazil support India on this concept and we will be discussing it next month at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, he added.
TISS Professor T Jayaraman presented his paper on global carbon budgets and burden sharing regimes. Using 1970 -- not 1850 -- as the emission base for his study, Jayaraman’s paper stresses that two-third of emissions have been from developed countries. “The main concern is the right of all humans to an equal amount of global atmospheric space. However, we will have to study how space has to be shared,” said Jayaraman.
Regarding the conference in Cancun, Ramesh said he was not very optimistic of a global agreement. “There might only be some side agreements,” said Ramesh adding that developed countries have not fulfilled their financial pledge of $ 30 billion from 2010-2012. “So far they have not exceeded $ 6 billion.”
Top climate negotiators from more than 190 countries will meet in the Mexican seaside resort of Cancun in November in a renewed bid to craft a treaty on greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Source: The Hindustan Times, June 29, 2010
http://www.businessweek.com , June 2010