GLASGOW: With the first week of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) ending with 90% of the global economy on Saturday with 90% of the global economy pledges to ‘net zero’, including the much talked-about Indian promise, the conference’s chairman Alok Sharma said that One mechanism is the $100 billion delivery plan to track climate finance – a key issue highlighted by India and several developing countries.
“When we took over this presidency, less than 30% of the global economy was covered by the ‘net zero’ target, but now it is being covered by 90% of the global economy. This is progress by any measure. But now it is also important to see how countries fulfill this commitment and therefore transparency is one of the key areas that we want to address in this room.” The goal could be reached. Sharma is also a Minister of State in the UK Cabinet Office.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘mitigation’ to track ‘climate finance’ the way it is being monitored, Sharma said the $100 billion delivery plan released a few days ago has this provision. . “We put this distribution plan together … it’s a plan that I believe is very reliable. It makes it clear in the plan whether it (the climate finance contribution) is being reviewed regularly …therefore, there are monitoring mechanisms in place,” he said on Saturday.
Several parallel alliances and alliances from different countries were also focused during the first week to tackle the issues of methane gas emissions, coal use, deforestation and financial and technical assistance for clean energy.
While India still needs to be clear on how it will reach its goals, Modi’s pitch for adaptation finance ($1 trillion) for the entire developing world and the country’s quest for an energy transition to the country’s negotiators for the second week. Hard bargaining will have to be done to achieve the unfinished agenda during the The Paris Agreement – Rules for the Carbon Market (Article 6) – was finalized when ministers arrived here for a high-level segment.
The finalization of the rules for Article 6 of the agreement will decide the fate of India’s one billion accumulated carbon credits, with the country negotiating hard to include such benefits before 2020 in the final discussion on emissions reductions. Used to be.
During the first week early drafts of negotiating texts, including Article 6 (the carbon market), were presented with negotiators working to find common ground. “As we look forward to talks in the second week of the COP, I urge all parties to come to the table with constructive agreement and ambitions,” Sharma said.
India’s Environment Secretary RP Gupta said, “India will submit its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – Climate Action Plans – soon and will focus on the promises made by Prime Minister Modi on how we can all reach the 2030 Goals. Will arrive.” India’s commitment and delivery plan, as stated earlier, is leading the country’s negotiating team.
Asked why India did not join the Coalition on Deforestation Commitments (‘Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use’), Gupta said, “It has ‘trade relations’ in its framework which are in the interest of the country. In any case, we are taking several measures to conserve our forests and work towards land degradation neutrality by 2030.
While such alliances and alliances have no legal validity, Indian interlocutors here said there was no point in joining such a forum as it would eventually be cited as the country’s position in the WTO negotiations. “This will harm India’s plan to promote agro-forestry and eventually make the country completely dependent on imports for its requirements for timber. We cannot take any steps to harm the interests of our traditional forest dwellers. There are those who depend on forests for livelihood. Besides, there are those who conserve forests,” said a climate negotiator.
Similarly, India thinks that methane reduction plans will affect its agriculture sector as this short-lived climate damaging gas also comes from paddy farming and livestock. Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for about 32% of total human-caused emissions, while paddy farming accounts for 8% of such emissions. Flooded fields in paddy cultivation prevent oxygen from entering the soil and thus create an ideal condition for methane emitting bacteria.
“When we discuss the fight against climate change, we should look at the cumulative effect of all greenhouse gases. Many countries have flagged the issue,” Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said before joining the talks at COP26. had told TOI in an interview last week.
Signaling a clear shift from ambition to immediate action, many countries, however, have been part of various alliances – whether on commitments to protect forests, reduce methane emissions and accelerate green technology. Be. In one such alliance, 114 countries committed to preventing and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030 under the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use. The pledge is publicly supported by $12bn and $7.2bn in private funding. Countries that have joined this alliance include Canada, Russia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The COP hosted a major event on methane for the first time, with 105 countries including 15 major emitters including Brazil, Nigeria and Canada signing the ‘Global Methane Pledge’. With the UK COP26 presidency led by the US and the EU, it accounts for 40% of global methane emissions and up to 60% of global GDP.
India on its part endorsed and signed a new ‘Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda’, which will allow countries and businesses to work together in this decade to accelerate the development and deployment of clean technologies and reduce costs. will work together. The signatories collectively represent over 50% of the world’s economy and every sector, including the US, India, the European Union.
The agenda aims to make clean technologies the most affordable, accessible and attractive option for all globally in the most polluting regions by 2030, especially to enable the developing world access to the innovation and tools needed for a proper transition to Net Zero. To help reach.
Work under the agenda will focus on five key sectors – electricity, road transport, hydrogen, steel and agriculture – which together represent more than half of total global emissions and further demonstrate how countries move from commitments to tangible action. are increasing.
.