RIO EARTH SUMMIT

RIO EARTH SUMMIT - Transcript

RIO EARTH SUMMIT 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNCED held in Rio de Janeiro Brazil The Earth Summit A total of 172 countries participated in this conference working towards reconciling the impact of human socio economic activities on the environment The principle theme was the environment and sustainable development The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was unprecedented for a UN conference in terms of both its size and the scope of its concerns Twenty years after the first global environment conference the UN sought to help Governments rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life were drawn into the Rio process They persuaded their leaders to go to Rio and join other nations in making the difficult decisions needed to ensure a healthy planet for generations to come The two week Earth Summit was the climax of a process begun in December 1989 of planning education and negotiations among all Member States of the United Nations leading to the adoption of Agenda 21 a wide ranging blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide In Rio Governments 108 represented by heads of State or Government adopted three major agreements aimed at changing the traditional approach to development


Agenda 21 A comprehensive programme of action for global action in all areas of sustainable development



The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development A series of principles defining the rights and responsibilities of States



The Statement of Forest Principles A set of principles to underlie the sustainable management of forests worldwide

In addition two legally binding Conventions aimed at preventing global climate change and the eradication of the diversity of biological species were opened for signature at the Summit giving high profile to these efforts


The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The Convention on Biological Diversity

Agenda 21 addresses today s pressing problems and aims to prepare the world for the challenges of the next century It contains detailed proposals for action in social and economic areas such as combating poverty changing patterns of production and consumption and addressing demographic dynamics and for conserving and managing the natural resources that are the basis for life protecting the atmosphere oceans and biodiversity preventing deforestation and promoting sustainable agriculture

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
issues It establishes the following principles


It

supports Agenda 21 by defining the rights and responsibilities of the States regarding these Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature


That scientific uncertainty should not delay measures to prevent environmental degradation where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage



States have a sovereign right to exploit their own resources but not to cause damage to the environment of other States



Eradicating poverty and reducing disparities in worldwide standards of living are indispensable for sustainable development



The full participation of women is essential for achieving sustainable development That the developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command

The Statement of Forest Principles It is a non legally binding statement of
principles for the sustainable management of forests It was the first global consensus reached on forests The following are its provisions



All countries notably developed countries should make an effort to green the world through reforestation and forest conservation



The States have a right to develop forests according to their socio economic needs in keeping with national sustainable development policies



Specific financial resources should be provided to develop programmes that encourage economic and social substitution policies

In addition to the above two areas the Rio Earth summit also incorporated the convention for climate change and a convention for bio diversity The purpose behind this was to draw focus to the ever increasing problem of climate change and issues relating to bio diversity This was an essential inclusion to the agenda as it has far reaching impact

Agenda 21
There are 40 chapters in Agenda 21 divided into four sections The whole document was over 900 pages Section I Social and Economic Dimensions including combating poverty changing consumption patterns population and demographic dynamics promoting health promoting sustainable settlement patterns and integrating environment and development into decision making Section II Conservation and Management of Resources for Development including atmospheric protection combating deforestation protecting fragile environments conservation of biological diversity biodiversity and control of pollution Section III Strengthening the Role of Major Groups including the roles of children and youth women NGOs local authorities business and workers Section IV Means of Implementation including science technology transfer education international institutions and mechanisms and financial mechanisms The implementation of Agenda 21 is intended to involve action at international national regional and local levels Some national and state governments have legislated or advised that

local authorities take steps to implement the plan locally as recommended in Chapter 28 of the document Such programmes are often known as Local Agenda 21 or LA21 Sustainable Penang Initiative SPI pioneered a community based indicators project aimed at creating a process for more holistic and sustainable development planning in the State of Penang It covered different areas of sustainable development ecological sustainability social justice economic productivity cultural vibrancy and popular participation The initiative eventually identified indicators through which they could monitor development in Penang over time Monitoring results were presented at a People s Forum It noted that the SPI process increased participation accountability and transparency in Penang Also it spearheaded the creation of new organizations to address specific issues including sustainable transport disabled access and water conservation SPI offers a practical example of how representatives from government business and civil society can work constructively together over time to enhance the effectiveness of development planning

Law of Sea 1994
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS III which took place from 1973 through 1982 The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world s oceans establishing guidelines for businesses the environment and the management of marine natural resources The Convention concluded in 1982 replaced four 1958 treaties UNCLOS came into force in 1994 a year after Guyana became the 60th state to sign the treaty 1 To date 158 countries and the European Community have joined in the Convention However it is now regarded as a codification of the customary international law on the issue While the Secretary General of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and accession and the UN provides support for meetings of states party to the Convention the UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention There is however a role played by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization the International

Whaling Commission and the International Seabed Authority the latter being established by the UN Convention Law of the Sea Conventions Law of the Sea Conventions 1958 Covention on the Territorial Sea and the Convention on the High Seas Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Seas United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS 1982 Living Resources of the High Contigious Zone

Jurisdictional Zones in the Law of the Sea Internal Waters Territorial Sea Contiguous Zone Exclusive Economic Zone Continental Shelf High Seas The International Seabed

Constructing Baselines The Normal Rule the normal baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the lowwater line along the coast as shown by the appropriate symmbols on charts officialy recognized by the coastal state LOSC Art 5 Straight Baselines Drawn not from the low water line but from a series of artificial lines General Rule coastal stages exercise the greatest degree of jurisdictional competence over those zones that lie closest to them

Jurisdictional Zones II



Internal Waters flows automatically from sovereignty exercised over land territory



Territorial Sea up to 12 seamiles full sovereignty except for rights of innocent passage



Contiguous Zone up to 24 seamiles territory outside the territorial sea where coastal states may exercise the control necessary to punish or prevent infringements of its customs fiscal immigration or sanitary laws and regulation within its territory or territorial sea



Exclusive Economic Zone Continental Shelf

Coastal States can establish a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ a claim for a continental shelf is not necessary The Coastal state have the right for the use of the living and non living natural resources to use the EEZ and the continental shelf for other economic purposes and the right to construct authorize and regulate the construction of artificial islands and certain installations and structures in EEZs all states have freedom of navigation and overflight as well as freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines Legal Definition of Continental Shelf based on Art 76 LOSC Continental Shelf extends to 200 miles from the baselines or to the outer edge of the continental margin whichever is further

Exclusive Economic Zones

Protocol 1997
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas GHG emissions These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five year period 2008 2012 The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Conventionencouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions the Protocol commits them to do so Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto Japan on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005 184 Parties of the Convention have ratified its Protocol to date The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001 and are called the Marrakesh Accords

The Kyoto mechanisms

Under the Treaty countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures However the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market based mechanisms The Kyoto mechanisms are Emissions trading known as the carbon market Clean development mechanism CDM Joint implementation JI The mechanisms help stimulate green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost effective way

Monitoring emission targets
Under the Protocol countries actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be kept of the trades carried out Registry systems track and record transactions by Parties under the mechanisms The UN Climate Change Secretariat based in Bonn Germany keeps an international transaction log to verify that transactions are consistent with the rules of the Protocol Reporting is done by Parties by way of submitting annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at regular intervals A compliance system ensures that Parties are meeting their commitments and helps them to meet their commitments if they have problems doing so Adaptation The Kyoto Protocol like the Convention is also designed to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change It facilitates the development and deployment of techniques that can help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change The Adaptation Fund was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol The Fund is financed mainly with a share of proceeds from CDM project activities

The road ahead
The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important first step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions and provides the essential architecture for any future international agreement on climate change By the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 a new international framework needs to have been negotiated and ratified that can deliver the stringent emission reductions the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC has clearly indicated are needed The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC or FCCC aimed at combating global warming The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system 1 The Protocol was initially adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto Japan and entered into force on 16 February 2005 As of November 2009 187 states have signed and ratified the protocol 2 The most notable non member of the Protocol is the United States which is a signatory of UNFCCC and was responsible for 36 1 of the 1990 emission levels

Under the Protocol 37 industrialized countries called Annex I countries commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases GHG carbon dioxide methane nitrous oxide sulphur hexafluoride and two groups of gases hydrofluorocarbons andperfluorocarbons produced by them and all member countries give general commitments Annex I countries agreed to reduce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by 5 2 from the 1990 level Emission limits do not include emissions by international aviation and shipping but are in addition to the industrial gases chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs which are dealt with under the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer The Protocol allows for several flexible mechanisms such as emissions trading the clean development mechanism CDM and joint implementation to allow Annex I countries to meet their GHG emission limitations by purchasing GHG emission reductions credits from elsewhere through financial exchanges projects that reduce emissions in non Annex I countries from other Annex I countries or from annex I countries with excess allowances Each Annex I country is required to submit an annual report of inventories of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from sources and removals from sinks under UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol These countries nominate a person called a designated national authority to create and manage its greenhouse gas inventory Countries including Japan Canada Italy the Netherlands Germany France Spain and others are actively promoting government carbon funds supporting multilateral carbon funds intent on purchasing carbon credits from non Annex I countries 3 and are working closely with their major utility energy oil and gas and chemicals conglomerates to acquire greenhouse gas certificates as cheaply as possible Virtually all of the non Annex I countries have also established a designated national authority to manage its Kyoto obligations specifically the CDM process that determines which GHG projects they wish to propose for accreditation by the CDM Executive Board

Objectives

Kyoto is intended to cut global emissions of greenhouse gases The objective is the stabilization and reconstruction of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system 1 The objective of the Kyoto climate change conference was to establish a legally binding international agreement whereby all the participating nations commit themselves to tackling the

issue of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions The target agreed upon was an average reduction of 5 2 from 1990 levels by the year 2012 Proponents also note that Kyoto is a first step 6 7 as requirements to meet the UNFCCC will be modified until the objective is met as required by UNFCCC Article 4 2 d 8 The five principal concepts of the Kyoto Protocol are commitments to reduce greenhouse gases that are legally binding for annex I countries as well as general commitments for all member countries implementation to meet the Protocol objectives to prepare policies and measures which reduce greenhouse gases increasing absorption of these gases for example through geosequestration and biosequestration and use all mechanisms available such as joint implementation clean development mechanism and emissions trading being rewarded with credits which allow more greenhouse gas emissions at home minimizing impacts on developing countries by establishing an adaptation fund for climate change accounting reporting and review to ensure the integrity of the Protocol compliance by establishing a compliance committee to enforce commitment to the Protocol

Details of the agreement
According to a press release from the United Nations Environment Programme After 10 days of tough negotiations ministers and other high level officials from 160 countries reached agreement this morning on a legally binding Protocol under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5 2 The agreement aims to lower overall emissions from a group of six greenhouse gases by 2008 12 calculated as an average over these five years Cuts in the three most important gases carbon dioxide CO2 methane CH4 and nitrous oxide N20 will be measured against a base year of 1990 Cuts in three long lived industrial gases hydrofluorocarbons HFCs perfluorocarbons PFCs and sulphur hexafluoride SF6 can be measured against either a 1990 or 1995 baseline National limitations range from 8 reductions for the European Union and others to 7 for the US 6 for Japan 0 for Russia and permitted increases of 8 for Australia and 10 for Iceland 9 The agreement supplements the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 which did not set any limitations or enforcement mechanisms All parties to UNFCCC can sign or ratify the Kyoto Protocol while non parties to UNFCCC cannot The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the third session of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC COP 3 in 1997 in Kyoto Japan Most provisions of the Kyoto Protocol apply to developed countries listed in Annex I to UNFCCC National emission targets exclude international aviation and shipping

Support
Advocates of the Kyoto Protocol state that reducing these emissions is crucially important as carbon dioxide is believed to be causing the Earth s atmosphere to heat up This is supported by attribution analysis

Most prominent among advocates of Kyoto have been the European Union and many environmentalist organizations The United Nations and some individual nations scientific advisory bodies including the G8national science academies have also issued reports favoring the Kyoto Protocol An international day of action was planned for 3 December 2005 to coincide with the Meeting of the Parties in Montreal The planned demonstrations were endorsed by the Assembly of Movements of theWorld Social Forum A group of major Canadian corporations also called for urgent action regarding climate change and have suggested that Kyoto is only a first step 81 In the United States there is at least one student group Kyoto Now which aims to use student interest to support pressure towards reducing emissions as targeted by the Kyoto Protocol compliance

Criticism
Some 82 argue the protocol does not go far enough to curb greenhouse emissions Niue The Cook Islands and Nauru added notes to this effect when signing the protocol 83 Some environmental economists have been critical of the Kyoto Protocol 84 85 86 Many see the costs of the Kyoto Protocol as outweighing the benefits some believing the standards which Kyoto sets to be too optimistic others seeing a highly inequitable and inefficient agreement which would do little to curb greenhouse gas emissions 87 Finally some economists such as Gwyn Prins and Steve Rayner think that an entirely different approach needs to be followed than the approach suggested by the Kyoto Protocol 88 Further there is controversy surrounding the use of 1990 as a base year as well as not using per capita emissions as a basis Countries had different achievements in energy efficiency in 1990 For example the former Soviet Union and eastern European countries did little to tackle the problem and their energy efficiency was at its worst level in 1990 the year just before their communist regimes fell On the other hand Japan as a big importer of natural resources had to improve its efficiency after the 1973 oil crisis and its emissions level in 1990 was better than most developed countries However such efforts were set aside and the inactivity of the former Soviet Union was overlooked and could even generate big income due to the emission trade There is an argument that the use of per capita emissions as a basis in the following Kyoto type treaties can reduce the sense of inequality among developed and developing countries alike as it can reveal inactivities and responsibilities among countries Cost benefit analysis Economists have been trying to analyze the overall net benefit of Kyoto Protocol through costbenefit analysis There is disagreement due to large uncertainties in economic variables 89 Some of the estimates indicate either that observing the Kyoto Protocol is more expensive than not observing the Kyoto Protocol or that the Kyoto Protocol has a marginal net benefit which exceeds the cost of simply adjusting to global warming However a study by De Leo et al found that accounting only for local external costs together with production costs to identify energy strategies compliance with the Kyoto Protocol would imply lower not higher overall costs 90 The recent Copenhagen consensus project found that the Kyoto Protocol would slow down the process of global warming but have a superficial overall benefit Defenders of the Kyoto

Protocol argue however that while the initial greenhouse gas cuts may have little effect they set the political precedent for bigger and more effective cuts in the future 91 They also advocate commitment to the precautionary principle Critics point out that additional higher curbs on carbon emission are likely to cause significantly higher increase in cost making such defense moot Moreover the precautionary principle could apply to any political social economic or environmental consequence which might have equally devastating effect in terms of poverty and environment making the precautionary argument irrelevant The Stern Review a UK government sponsored report into the economic impacts of climate change concluded that one percent of global GDP is required to be invested to mitigate the effects of climate change and that failure to do so could risk a recession worth up to twenty percent of global GDP 92 Discount rates One problem in attempting to measure the absolute costs and benefits of different policies to global warming is choosing a proper discount rate Over a long time horizon such as that in which benefits accrue under Kyoto small changes in the discount rate create very large discrepancies between net benefits in various studies However this difficulty is generally not applicable to relative comparison of alternative policies under a long time horizon This is because changes in discount rates tend to equally adjust the net cost benefit of different policies unless there are significant discrepancies of cost and benefit over time horizon It has been difficult to arrive at a scenario under which the net benefits of Kyoto are positive using traditional discounting methods such as the Shadow Price of Capital approach 93 Change in greenhouse gas emission since 1990 Below is a list of the change in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2004 for some countries that are part of the Climate Change Convention as reported by the United Nations 94 Change in Change in greenhouse greenhouse gas gas Emissions 1990Emissions 1990 2004 2004 excluding LULUCF including LULUCF 19 17 27 25 49 22 2 18 2 26 6 5 2 50 4

Country

EU Assigned Objective for 2012

Treaty Obligation 2008 2012

Denmark Germany Canada Australia Spain

20 21 n a n a 15

11 8 6 8 8

Norway New Zealand France Greece Ireland Japan United Kingdom Portugal EU 15

10 21 0 8 27 23 6 5

18 7 17 9 6 1 25 3 22 7 5 2

n a n a 0 25 13 n a

1 0 8 8 8 6

14

58 8

12 5

8

41 0 8

28 9 2 6

27 n a

8 8

Below is a table of the changes in greenhouse gas emissions of some countries 95 Country Change in greenhouse gas Emissions 1992 2007 103 150 20 20

India China United States Russian Federation

Japan Worldwide Total

11 38

Comparing total greenhouse gas emissions in 2004 to 1990 levels the U S emissions were up by 15 8 96 with irregular fluctuations from one year to another but a general trend to increase 97 At the same time the EU group of 23 EU 23 Nations had reduced their emissions by 5 98 In addition the EU 15 group of nations a large subset of EU 23 reduced their emissions by 0 8 between 1990 and 2004 while emission rose 2 5 from 1999 to 2004 Part of the increases for some of the European Union countries are still in line with the treaty being part of the cluster of countries implementation see objectives in the list above As of year end 2006 the United Kingdom and Sweden were the only EU countries on pace to meet their Kyoto emissions commitments by 2010 While UN statistics indicate that as a group the 36 Kyoto signatory countries can meet the 5 reduction target by 2012 most of the progress in greenhouse gas reduction has come from the stark decline in Eastern European countries emissions after the fall of communism in the 1990s 99 National greenhouse gas inventories provide the basis for the Kyoto Protocol adopted by the FCCC Parties at their third conference in 1997 The Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding commitments for the reduction of six greenhouse gases carbon dioxide methane nitrous oxide sulfur hexafluoride hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons produced by Annex I industrialized nations as well as general commitments for all member countries Kyoto set global and national GHG emission reduction targets through 2012 based on 1990 baseline On average reductions of 5 2

Kyoto Carbon Trading
Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol defines a Clean Development Mechanism which can be used by major polluting countries to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries



Kyoto allows major developed countries to meet their greenhouse gas emission limitation by purchasing GHG emission reductions from elsewhere Implementation Joint



Gives financial incentives to non Annex I countries to develop GHG emission reduction projects to receive Carbon Credits that can then be sold to Annex I buyers Created tradable financial instruments bought and sold on the spot market for speculation purposes linked to futures contracts

Bali COP 13 held December 2007 Over 10 000 participants attended COP 13 Bali Road Map adopted The Road Map includes the Bali Action Plan which charts the course for a new negotiating process designed to tackle climate change with the aim of completing this by the end of 2009 at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen COP 15 Aarhus Fourth Ministerial Conference Environment for Europe June 1998 adopted Convention on Access to Information Public Participation in Decisionmaking and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters 42 Parties including the European Community negotiated under auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE Recognises the right to a healthy environment and acknowledges that citizens may need assistance in order to exercise their rights Aims to further accountability and transparency in decision making and strengthen public support for decisions on environment Recognises desirability of transparency in all branches of government



Recognises importance of respective roles of citizens and enables active NGO participation in all processes under the Convention Each Party to establish and maintain a clear transparent and consistent framework to implement the Convention European Union institutions covered Anti harassment non discrimination provisions Compliance review arrangements Open to non UNECE countries Compliance review mechanism open to the public Since 2004 29 communications from the public including civic organizations triggering compliance review procedures Leading to findings of non compliance by the Compliance Committee and formal decisions of non compliance at the MOPs in 2005 and 2008 Improved legal standing for NGOs

COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CONFERENCE 2009
The primary objective is to enter into a binding global climate agreement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen This agreement will apply to the period after 2012 The goal is to include as many countries as possible and that the agreement must contribute to a reduction in man made greenhouse gases which have a negative effect on our climate system All efforts will be concentrated into obtaining an agreement that combines respect for the environment living standards and long term security of energy supply in the best way possible

The Danish government presented their objectives as a hosting nation for the conference COP15


To get all the world s countries to agree on a global target for the reduction of To get the world s industrialized countries to take the lead and reduce their CO2

greenhouse gas emissions


emissions significantly while the world s newly industrialized countries and developing countries contribute to a collective solution


To agree on a global climate regime which does not restrain economic growth

and does not distort competition on the world market Given the current increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the impending ill effects of rapid industrialization this conference is of utmost importance The participating nations are looking at taking decisive measures to reduce carbon emissions and contribute in their own capacity to protecting the environment This has assumed utmost importance given the massive environmental concerns relating to climate change

India s Role in Policies
Climate change means a change in climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time period Climate change is one of the allencompassing global environmental changes having deleterious effects on natural and human system economies and infrastructure The risk associated with it call for a broad spectrum of policy responses and strategies at all levels local regional national and global Climate change is a serious global environmental phenomenon which has been viewed with concern in International academic and scientific circles for many decades particularly because of the adverse impact that anthropogenic climate change can have on various sectors of society

eco system and economy Of late it has received high degree of attention at political levels because of its implications for energy security and ecologically sustainable development Climate change is primarily caused by the building up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC the global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceeded pre industrial values the global increase in carbon dioxide concentration are due primarily to fossil fuel use and land use change while those of methane and nitrous oxide are primarily due to agriculture According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC the enhanced greenhouse effect will result in additional warming of the Earth s surface The fourth assessment report of 2007 of the Working Group III of the IPCC states that Global Greenhouse Gas GHG emission have grown since pre industrial times with an increase of 70 percent between 1970 to 2004 The largest growth in the Global GHG emissions during this period has come from the energy supply sector an increase of 145 percent The growth in direct emissions from transport has been120 percent industry 65 percent and land Use Land Use Change and Forestry LULUCF 40 percent

Future impact of Global Warming
The fourth assessment report of the IPCC submitted in 2007 has projected a serious picture of the Earth s future The report has stated that Global Warming may have a devastating impact on the climate of the Earth It is very likely that climate change can slow down the pace of progress towards sustainable development either directly through increased exposure to adverse impact or indirectly through erosion of the capacity to adapt The report predicts that there would be enlargement and increased number of glacial lakes and increasing ground instability in permafrost region and rock avalanches in mountain regions Effects of temperature change has

also been documented in some aspects of human heath such as heat related morality in Eastern Europe infectious disease vector in some areas and allergenic pollens in Northern Hemisphere High and mid latitudes Settlements in the mountain region are at enhanced risk to glacier lake outburst floods caused by the melting glacier Sea level rise and human development are together contributing to the losses of coastal wetland and mangroves and increasing damage from coastal flooding in many areas Increase in the frequency of droughts and floods are projected to effect local productivity negatively especially in subsistence sector at low altitudes Coasts are projected to be exposed to increasing risks including coastal erosion due to climate change and sea level rise and the effect will be exacerbated by increasing human induced pressures on coastal areas The report projected that climate change related exposures are likely to affect the health status of millions of people especially those with low adaptive capacity through Increase in malnutrition and consequent disorders with implication of child growth and development and Increase deaths disease and injury due to heat wave floods storms fire and drought

Regarding the Asian region the report points out that glacier melt in the Himalayas in projected to increase flooding rock avalanche from destabilized slopes and to affect water resources within the next two or three decades This will be followed by decreased river flows as the glaciers recede The report further predicts an adverse impact of climate change on human health as endemic morbidity due to diarrheal disease primarily associated with floods and droughts are expected to rise in East South and Southeast Asia due to projected changes in hydrological cycle associated with global warming Increase in coastal water temperature would exacerbate the abundance and or toxicity of cholera in South Asia

Impact on India
India is also not immune from the impact of Global warming and climate change Any sharp rise in sea level could have a considerable impact on India The United Nation Environment Programme included India among 27 countries that are most vulnerable to rise in sea level Glaciers in Himalayas feed important rivers such as the Ganga the Indus and the Brahmaputra that provide water for millions of people as well as for irrigation and industry The accelerated melting which these glaciers are experiencing as a result of the Earth s warming will have an adverse effect on future water availability The Gangotri glacier one of the largest in the Himalayas has been retreating since long and more rapidly in recent decades As the glaciers retreat they become more fragmented and the smaller glaciers are more sensitive to global warming

International Response
The international community set up the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC in 1992 which seeks to address the challenge of climate change on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities of the member parties The objective of the UNFCCC id to stabilize the concentration of Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous anthropogenic interferences with the climate change The UNFCCC recognizes the legitimate need of developing countries for sustained economic growth and poverty alleviation Article 3 1 of the UNFCCC mention that Parties to the convention should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of human kinds on the basis of equity and in accordance to their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities It is also noted in the preamble of the UNFCCC that the largest share of the historical and current emission of the Greenhouse gases has originated in the developed countries that per capita

emission in the developing countries are still relatively low and that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs The implementation of the convention is promoted and reviewed through the decision taken at the annual meeting of the Conference of Parties CoP In the year 1997 Parties adopted the Kyoto Protocol which set legally binding targets for GHG reductions by the industrialized countries during the first commitment period i e 2008 2012 The developed country Parties are expected to reduce by 2012 their GHG emissions by an order of 5 2 percent below their aggregate 1990 emissions The Kyoto Protocol is the most significant agreement till date to combat climate change The Protocol provides for quantified emissions limitations and reduction commitments for the developed countries while presenting suggesting mechanism to facilitate reviews of and compliance with these targets The Kyoto Protocol Provides for three mechanisms that enable the developed countries with quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments to acquire Greenhouse gas reduction credits from activities outside their own boundaries at relatively lesser costs These are joint implementations Clean Development Mechanism CDM and emissions trading Developing countries can participate only in the CDM Under the CDM a developed country can take up Greenhouse gas reduction project activities in developing countries where the cost of Greenhouse gas reduction project activities is usually much lower The CDM supports the implementation of sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies in the developing countries and thereby facilitates the meeting of the emission reduction obligation by the industrialized countries in a cost effective manner India is a Party to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol

India s position
The earth s atmosphere is a common resource for all of humankind Everyone on this planet has an equal right to use all these resource for development within a globally sustainable limit However the recklessness and inequitable use of this common resource over a long period of time has contributed to and accentuated the problem of Global warming and climate change India had probably the most comprehensive framework of legal and institutional mechanisms in the region to respond to the tremendous challenges to the environment it is facing owing to population explosion poverty and illiteracy augmented by urbanization and industrial development India is probably the first developing country which has incorporated into its constitution the specific provision for environment protection Article 48A of the Constitution of India provides that the state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forest and wildlife of the country Similarly Article 51A g makes it obligatory for every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forest lakes rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures As a developing nation India in its endeavor to bring millions of people out of poverty cannot accept binding commitments for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases The total emission of Greenhouse gas is bound to increase in India in the course of meeting the demands for raising

the standards of living and providing access to commercial energy to all Around 55 percent of India s population still does not have access to commercial energy Developed countries being responsible for the high level of historical as well as current emissions are required to stabilize and reduce their emissions of GHGs Hence India is of the view that developed countries should come forward and take further deeper commitments beyond the year 2012 in addition they should take all practical steps to promote the development and transfer of environmentally friendly technologies to the developing countries India is however committed to playing a constructive role in the global dialogue on climate change India believes that it is only through the path of sustainable development that a longterm protection to climate change can be offered India s long standing commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development was articulated by the former Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi in 1972 when she told the United Nation Conference on the Human Environment that poverty is the worst polluter In terms of that vision the government of India has continuously addressed the relationship between poverty alleviation economic growth and environmental conservation in an organized structure of politics regulations programmes and institutions for realizing sustainable development

India and the International forums
India is a Party to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change India has established the National Clean Development Mechanism Authority NCDMA on 2 nd December 2003 India s CDM potential represents a significant component of the Global CDM market As of April 2009 420out of total 1 593 projects registered by the CDM Executive Board are from India which so far is the second highest by any country in the world Also as on 31 st March 2009 the Nation CDM Authority has accorded Host Country Approval to 1 230 projects

facilitating an investment of more than Rs 151 650 crore These projects are in the sector of energy efficiency fuel switching industrial processes municipal solid wastes and renewable energy If all these projects get registered by the CDM Executive Board they have the potential to generate 574 million Certified Emission Reduction CeR by the year 2012 It has been India s stand not to agree to any commitments related to reducing Greenhouse gas emissions In order to meet the demands to rising standard of living and proving access to commercial energy to those lacking it the total emission of greenhouse gas is bound to increase in India and also in other developing countries Developed countries being responsible for the problem owing to their historical as well as current emissions are required to stabilize and reduce their GHGs Hence developed countries should come forward and take a deeper commitment beyond the year 2012

Climate friendly measures undertaken by India
India id conscious if the challenge of climate change and the urgency of action needed to counter its possible adverse impacts The past few years have witnessed the introduction of environmental measures in India and have targeted conservation of rivers improvement of urban air quality enhanced afforestation and a significant increase in the installed capacity of renewable energy technologies These deliberate actions by consciously factoring in India s commitment to the UNFCCC have realigned the economic development to a more climate friendly and sustainable path India believes that adaptation is critical for the developing countries that are most vulnerable to the climate change India has implemented in pursuit of this objective several major programmes addressing the climate variability concerns These include cyclone warning and protection coastal protection floods and drought control and relief major and minor irrigation projects control of malaria food security measures and research on drought resistant crops etc

The goal of India s climate change related actions is to ensure sustainable development which is inclusive in nature The policy does not compromise on the development imperatives including energy security and poverty alleviation India s National Environment Policy 2006 underlines that while conservation of environmental resources is necessary to secure livelihoods and well being of all the most secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people dependant on particular resources obtain their livelihood from the fact of conservation than from degradation of the resource As India endeavours to increase energy consumption to empower its people the national policies are designed to ensure that the means are also sustainable This includes use of market mechanisms and the relevant technology along with the promotion of energy efficiency conservation and renewable energy As part of such policy measures have been taken to promote the use of CNG for public transport including metro rail in two cities enact the Energy Conservation Act 2001 and notify an Energy Efficiency Code for the new commercial buildings India s per capita consumption of energy is 530 kgoe Kilogram of Oil Equivalent of primary energy compared to the world average of 1770 kgoe India s per capita emission of Co2 is among the lowest in the world It is approximately 1 tonne per annum as against a world average of 4 2 tonne per annum while the average for industrialised countries ranges between 10 20 tonne per capita The fossil fuel CO2 intensity in India is same as in Japan and better than in Germany This is owing to the fact that at national level an effective regime of policies regulations and programmes has been set up to address energy efficiency and energy security concerns This has had a positive effect on India s development process

The government of India has set up an elaborate institutional mechanism to consider and address issues related to climate change A council chaired by the Prime Minister s Council on Climate Change was constituted in June 2007 to coordinate national action for assessment adaptation and mitigation of climate change The Council provides the overall guidance to climate change related actions taken by various Ministries in the Government and other agencies An expert committee set up in 2007 under the chairmanship of the Principal Scientific Advisor to government of India is also looking into the impacts of climate change The committee is studying the impact of anthropogenic climate change on India and is engaged in identifying the measures that may have to be taken to address the adverse impacts Further a Policy Guidance Group for International Negotiations headed by the Prime Minister and consisting of Ministers concerned and a core Negotiating Team of officials and technical experts assisting the international negotiations have also been set up

National Action Plan on Climate Change
As part of national voluntary actions to address the climate change related concerns India released its Nation Action Plan on Climate Change NAPCC on 30 June 2008 The National Action Plan advocates a strategy that promotes firstly the adaptation to climate change and secondly further enhancement of the ecological sustainability of India s development path It recognises that climate change is a global challenge and that it should be successfully overcome through a globally collaborative and cooperative effort based on the basis of principal of equity The action Plan suggests that the long term convergence of per capita GHG emissions is the only equitable basis for a global agreement to tackle climate change The Action Plan assures the International community that India s per capita GHG emissions would not exceed the per capita GHG emissions of developed countries despite India s development imperatives

India s National Action Plan stresses that maintaining a high growth is essential for increasing living standards of the vast majority of population of India and reducing their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change Accordingly the Action Plan identifies measures that promote the objective of sustainable development of India while also yielding co benefits for addressing climate change It also outlines the national strategy that aims at enabling the country to adapt to climate change and enhances the ecological sustainability of India s development path Eight National Missions National Solar Mission National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency National Mission on Sustainable Habitat National Water Mission National Mission for sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem National Mission for Green India National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change which form the core of National Action Plan represent multi prolonged long term and integrate strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate change Besides the National Missions several other initiatives that are critical to strengthen the quality and participation levels at international negotiations on climate change such as assisting Commonwealth developing countries with their national negotiating capacity

Impact of policy measures taken by India to mitigate climate change
The past few years have witnessed the introduction of landmark environmental policy measures in India that have targeted conservation of rivers improvement of urban air enhanced forestation and a significant increase in the installed capacity of the renewable energy

technologies These and similar measures affirmed from the democratic and legislative processes have been implemented by committing additional resource as well as by re aligning new investments Besides several other climatic friendly measures have been taken in recent years that have a direct bearing on mitigating climate change India with 17 of the world s population contributes only 4 of the total global greenhouse gas emissions against 30 approx of the U S and 25 of the EU countries In terms of per capita GHG emissions in the year 2004 India is further lower at only 1 02 MT CO2 about 23 of the global average as compared with the per capita emission of 20 01 MT CO2 in US and 9 40 MT CO2 in EU However over 700 CDM projects have been approved by the CDM National Designated Authority and about 300 of these have been registered by the CDM Executive Board The registered projects have already resulted in over 27 million tonnes of certified CO2 emission reduction Over the past decade gains in both poverty reduction and economic growth have been significant in India and supported by energy growth which has been significantly lower than economic growth This reduced energy intensity of the economy since the period 2004 has been marked by an economic growth rate of over 9 percent per annum which has been achieved with an energy growth of less than 4 percent per annum India s environmental policy has been driven by the imperatives of sustainable development and has as a co benefit led to a decline in the intensity of energy use and carbon dioxide emission as well The high ratio of recycling in India compared to that of other major economies has also limited the growth of energy use and GHG emissions because of the lower demand for virgin material such as steel aluminium and copper

The Electricity Act 2003 requires states Electricity Regulatory Commission to specify a percentage of electricity that the electricity distribution companies must procure from renewable sources Several commissions have already operationalized this mandate and also notified preferential prices of electricity from renewable sources This has contributed to n acceleration in renewable electricity capacity addition and over the past three years about 2000MW of renewable electricity capacity has been added in India every year bringing the total installed renewable capacity to over 11000MW Of this over 7000MW is based on wind power India now has the fourth largest installed wind capacity in the world The National Hydro Energy policy has resulted in the accelerated addition of Hydropower in India which is now over 35000MW

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www cpahq org Hindustan Times Times of India Economic Times www cmslegal com Climate Change en cop15 dk