What is the issue?
23rd conference of the ‘UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCC’ is currently underway at Bonn, Germany.
What are the focus areas?
- Developing countries including India are focussing on ensuring adequate financing for mitigation and adaptation.
- They are moving ahead with specific instruments for loss and damage they suffer due to destructive climate-linked events.
- Envisioning technologies, sharing expertise and building structures for addressing future challenges anchored most debates.
What is ‘Transport Decarbonisation Alliance’?
- It is alliance that has been declared at the current Bonn session– which intends to facilitate a shift to sustainable fuels.
- This envisions a framework for getting cities to commit to eco-friendly mobility.
- This will also improve the quality of urban life for citizens.
- Notably, India is systematically replacing its public buses with an electric fleet and plans to go electric for all vehicles by 2030.
- Such measures will have a beneficial effect not just on transport choices, but on public health through pollution abatement.
- Laws to raise the energy efficiency of vehicles would work well if supported with financial incentives.
How are India’s advances towards its targets?
- India’s pledged to reduce the intensity of its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 20-25% from 2005 levels by 2020.
- This commitment was made in Copenhagen in 2009 and has been progressing positively.
- The pledges made in the Paris pact of 2015 are also proceeding according to the envisioned targets.
- 40% share of renewable energy is targeted by 2030 – which would be in line with emission intensity for GDP growth of 7% or less.
- Notably, generating 175 gigawatts of renewable power by 2022 is already underway.
- India could further raise its ambition in the use of green technologies, which would mark it as a global climate leader.
How does the future look?
- Challenges - The impact of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods on economic growth hasn’t been enumerated.
- In this context, the rich countries must give up their rigid approach towards the demands of low and middle income countries.
- An early resolution on the question of financing mitigation, adaptation and compensation is desirable.
- There is also some worry that an increase in coal, oil and gas production could negate some of the gains made.
- Opportunities - The climate question presents a leapfrog era for ushering in a new era of innovation and growth.
- Hence, projects have to be decisively pursued and barriers for wider adoption of renewable need to be taken down.
Source: The Hindu
