Europe starts climate talks with Kyoto doublespeak

As new reports highlighted devastating impact of climate change and record increase in global warming causing carbon emissions, the divide between the developed and developing nations became apparent as global climate talks kick-started in Durban today. Chetan Chauhan reports.

Updated on: Nov 28, 2011, 23:45:35 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

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As new reports highlighted devastating impact of climate change and record increase in global warming causing carbon emissions, the divide between the developed and developing nations became apparent as global climate talks kick-started in Durban on Monday.

At the onset of conference coined as ‘Momentum of Change’, South African President Jacob Zuma pointed out to climate impacts and United Nations climate convention’s executive secretary Christiana Figueres sought money for the developing world to adapt.

The centre stage for talks will remain second commitment period for existing climate treaty Kyoto Protocol, a pro-poor instrument being sought by India and China. Europe on the fact of it supports Kyoto but has been trying to dilute it basic framework of rich nations having to pay for climate mitigation in the developing world.

Europe’s climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard in a newspaper article on Monday said she backs Kyoto but added that second commitment period would not help as it will cover only 16% of the global carbon emissions. Primarily, because biggest emitters United States, Canada, Japan and Australia would not be part of Kyoto in future.

Hedegaard wanted India and China to agree for mandatory emission cuts under the new Kyoto like regime, a suggested out-rightly rejected. India believes agreeing to any binding emission cuts at this stage will mean compromising with economic growth and depriving country’s 400 million poor from right to energy and basic level of living.

“Rich nations now cannot do away with their historical responsibility towards emission mitigation,” was environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan’s reaction. Natarajan, who has claimed that India has already given two much in climate talks to rich nations, is expected to take a tough stand in Durban.

India has ruled out any legally binding climate treaty, which turns its voluntary commitments into mandatory, mandatory emission cuts and peaking year for its emissions. Rather, India will seek quick money and technology transfer to the developing world, higher emission cut pledge from the developed world and equity in climate talks.

With a huge divide between development and developing nations, even a framework of new climate treaty is not expected at Durban. Figueres expects the Technology Mechanism and the Adaptation Committee agreed in Cancun could be completed in Durban. “And in Durban, the first phase of the design of the Green Climate Fund can be approved, as a major step on the road towards better supported climate action.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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