It is different matter whether India lost or gained in the MEF meet in Italy recently regarding the climate change negotiations. The fundamental fact is that India changed its stance from no compromise to all compromise. This is fault with the Indian diplomats in all fronts. Either they should stop pronouncing vehemently in public or they should follow what they say.
The Times of India writes (16 July 2009)
The declaration drawn up by the Major Economies Forum in Italy runs into several hundred words. But it does not address a vital issue, of how
developing countries will get access to clean technology. It is all very well to talk of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. But India does not have the wherewithal to invest in clean technology and needs help. Neither is India a principal culprit in this regard as is being made out in scapegoating campaigns run by western media. Its per capita emissions are 20 times less than the US and 10 times less than the EU. It's simply not in the big league when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and cannot be asked to unilaterally sacrifice its development goals for the sake of combating climate change.
Details of the sharing of clean technology with IPR waivers by rich countries and the funding of clean development projects in developing countries have not been discussed nor the specifics thrashed out. The declaration is the thin end of the wedge, and it is only a matter of time before India is arm-twisted into committing itself to an emissions cap. If there is no commitment by industrialised countries to guarantee financial assistance, nor a promise of short-term emissions reductions targets on their part, why should India agree even if in principle to such a declaration?
India needs to stand its ground with regard to issues of cap and trade, the total volume versus per capita emissions debate and the demand for technology and funds transfer in order to meet its adaptation and mitigation costs. Everyone is now burdened by the omissions and commissions and emissions of the rich countries. Yet the real culprits are unwilling to take responsibility for their actions. Heavy industrialisation and throwaway lifestyles are still unfamiliar to countries like India that have a record of living in harmony with the environment. It's time now to cooperate for taking concerted, equitable action to ensure our survival - and not to waste time in one-upmanship.
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It is difficult to understand the wailing and gnashing of teeth at India's signing on to the Major Economies Forum (MEF) statement. To hear the
critics, it would seem that New Delhi has sold out India's citizens, signed away its right to development and agreed to revert to the Stone Age for good measure. All this from a simple statement that rise in global temperatures be capped at two degrees above pre-industrial levels. There's no basis in fact to the perception that New Delhi has somehow sold out or climbed down from its previous standpoint, that the developed world must owe up to its historical responsibility for climate change and that citizens of developing countries have an equal right to progress.
From a pragmatic point of view, the MEF statement is merely a vague, non-binding statement of intent. There is no mention at all of legally binding emissions reduction targets, the primary sticking point for New Delhi. Without this quantitative component, there is nothing in the statement to contravene the principle of common but differentiated responsibility that is contained in the relevant UN convention. How, then, has the Indian government caved in?
From a normative standpoint, in fact, it has done well. The end result of a two-degree limit on global temperature rise is a worthy goal. There is no reason India should not subscribe to it. Without country-specific targets, it is not a zero-sum game, as critics seem to be portraying it to be. To hold back at this stage would have been to send the wrong message entirely, that New Delhi is insincere about dealing with climate change. This is especially true when other developing nations such as China and Brazil had already signed on. Conversely, by making this show of good faith, New Delhi has strengthened its bargaining power. When the contentious issue of country-specific caps arises, as it inevitably will at some point, the Indian government will be in a stronger position to argue for technology transfer and equal rights to the atmosphere.
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