Rulebook at Katowice - Concerns for Developing Countries
iasparliament
January 16, 2019
What is the issue?
The recent climate conference in Katowice, Poland finalised the “rulebook” for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
But it brings little cheer on the climate front for developing countries, given its drawbacks.
What are the shortfalls in the rulebook?
Developing countries - At Paris, the developed nations were allowed to make voluntary commitments to climate mitigation, on par with the developing nations.
At Katowice this process went further, with uniform standards of reporting, monitoring and evaluation for all countries.
The real targets of this uniformity are not the poorest nations, who have been provided exemptions, but the larger developing nations.
These reporting requirements, in their uniformity, are intended as much for Maldives as the U.S.
All developing nations are apparently allowed flexibility in these reporting requirements.
But the concession comes with a number of conditions, with the intention of forcing them to full compliance in short order.
Rationale - The reporting requirements are also marked by a pseudo-scientific concern for stringency.
The recent Special Report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) highlights uncertainties in fixing global emission targets in relation with global carbon budget.
Given such uncertainty, the requirement of reporting as little as 500 kilo tonnes or 0.05% of national emissions per country has little scientific rationality.
Moreover, the uniformity of the stringency in reporting is being expressed in percentage terms.
But a smaller percentage of the emissions of a large emitter will be a larger quantity in absolute terms compared to the larger percentage of emissions of a small emitter.
What are the larger concerns?
Mitigation - There is lack of initiative by the developed countries in taking the lead in climate mitigation.
All developed countries continue to invest in fossil fuels either through direct production or imports.
Some do so because of the downgrading of nuclear energy due to domestic political pressures.
Others are still trying to wean themselves off coal by shifting to gas.
Overall, the use of fossil fuel-based electricity generation continues to rise for OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.
Finance - Developing countries have for long demanded that the bulk of climate finance must be from public sources.
In contrast, the developed countries have succeeded in putting other sources of finance, including FDI and equity flows.
But private sector flows or loans will increase the indebtedness of developing countries.
Much of the pressure exerted by developed countries at COP24 (Conference of Parties), Katowice had the active backing and instigation of the U.S.
The marked synergy between the U.S. and its political and strategic allies pushed through several critical elements of the “rulebook”.
What is the case with India?
India has been articulating the need for equity in climate action and climate justice.
But it failed to obtain the operationalisation of these notions in several aspects of the “rulebook”.
In contrast, Brazil held its ground on matters relating to carbon trading that it was concerned about.
It postponed finalisation of the matter to next year’s summit.
India underestimated what was at stake at Katowice and the outcome mean a serious narrowing of India’s developmental options in the future.
In all, the “rulebook” adoption at COP24 signals a global climate regime that benefits and protects the interests of the global rich.
It has left the climatic fate of the world, and the developmental future of a substantial section of its population, still hanging in the balance.
