27 July 2020, NIICE Commentary 5693
Swati Prabhu
Developing economies are some of the worst sufferers of environmental degradation while also bearing the maximum brunt of the resultant impact on climate change. However, adapting a strong and pragmatic policy on environment by involving sub-national actors holds the key in mitigating climate change. In fact, climate policy making has come to occupy the locus of current global environmental affairs, thanks to the incessant rise in carbon emissions. Talking of South Asia, the Indian subcontinent particularly, has been bearing the brunt of rising global temperatures due to the disproportionate balance of its growth, and inequality. However, in the recent past, to borrow the words of Katherine Michaelowa, India has transitioned from a protest voice on the fringes of global environmental policy to one that is actively shaping global environmental efforts. The recent assertion by PM Narendra Modi on climate change being one of the biggest challenges facing mankind followed by terrorism reemphasizes that New Delhi needs to come out of its traditional nay-sayer approach and become a dynamic broker by shedding old mindsets in climate change negotiations. In certain terms, India has come a long way by putting forth a strong fight at the negotiation tables.
However, ironically, the total emissions build up over the past 150 years or so has little to do with the Indian carbon footprint. Taking a view of the past, the historical responsibility of initiating climate change, as per a study conducted by Climate Analytics for the period 1850 to 2012, falls heavily upon the United States of America (20 percent), the European Union (17 percent), and China (12 percent) who cumulatively are predicted to contribute about 50 percent of the global temperature increase by 2100. In this context, India’s emissions come about to be approximately 5 percent. On the other hand, taking New Delhi’s status in the present scenario, it is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thereby occupying a pivotal position in international climate action. This duplexity of India’s status provides it with a unique responsibility in global governance. Not bearing a huge historical responsibility of accumulated carbon emissions but at the same time being one of the largest emitters and also the most affected presently, India has positioned itself in the driver’s seat. Take for instance, New Delhi’s effort to reinvigorate the solar power capacity with a target of 100 GW by 2022. Another pertinent example in this regard is the formation of International Solar Alliance which was jointly initiated by India and France at the landmark COP 21 meeting in Paris in 2015, to foster cooperation among the solar-resource-rich countries, majorly located in the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. This can undoubtedly be counted as one of the significant steps undertaken by India towards mitigating climate change at a global scale, thereby giving a platform to the developing economies.
Taking the lead in international negotiations, New Delhi holds potential in showing the way to the neighbouring countries in devising a pragmatic environmental policy. With access to limited resources, the Indian subcontinent needs to implement a co-benefits approach to domestic climate policy formulation, whereby a conscious effort is made to manage mitigation and adaptation actions as well as other development goals, such as equity, are also extended. Here, its development partnership initiatives in the neighbourhood come into play. By reversing its position from an aid receiver to an aid donor (or partner), India has attempted to fulfil its humanitarian obligations thereby promoting an “equal partner” relationship between the donor and recipient countries. By establishing the Development Partnership Administration (DPA) under the aegis of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in 2012, New Delhi has projected its desire towards promotion of South-South Cooperation which is also a fundamental pillar of its foreign policy objectives and diplomacy. Comprising of three divisions, DPA I deals with project appraisal and lines of credit; DPA II is related to capacity building schemes, disaster relief, Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) and DPA III deals with project implementation. In the recent budget (2019-20), New Delhi upped its aid game by spreading the limelight towards the littoral states situated in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), although Bhutan remains the top recipient (Rs. 28.02 billion). Allocating about Rs. 1.10 billion to a tiny state of Mauritius, another Rs 5.67 billion to Maldives, and approximately Rs 1 billion to Seychelles, New Delhi is attempting to assist these small island nations in realizing their environmental goals. At the same time, geopolitically speaking, it is also endeavouring to compete with Beijing albeit with lesser resources.
On the other hand, stock taking of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation might seem like an uphill task but it isn’t. Five years have passed by since the adoption of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but the ‘charm offensive’ approach of the international community (be it North towards the South or vice versa) has turned out to be a hogwash. The contribution of most of the business enterprises towards absorbing the sustainability in their agenda remains patchy. In fact, as Farhana Yamin puts it, three options stare at the face of humanity at present: to die, to survive or to thrive. Though the role of sub-state and non-state actors has been aptly recognized and highlighted in the global climate change narrative, most of the nations, including the EU, continue to be in a phase of “Reflection”, thereby having failed to come up with a concrete plan of SDGs implementation. Basically, a lot has been said and less has been done. The anthropocentric approach towards the natural environment has in fact done more damage than good. This is where one observes the shift towards civil disobedience in climate change mitigation. Recently, the world has witnessed a groundswell of grassroots protests with a prime concern towards environment protection. Interestingly, these protests are not helmed by NGOs or organization run by big MNCs. These are citizen-centred movements operating through the medium of social media or the internet attempting to gather common people, especially children and the youth to raise their voices against biodiversity loss and environmental massacre.
Starting from Western Europe, in Britain, for instance, Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) took the reins by declaring a week-long mass blockade in major cities worldwide to register their concerns for the planet. Their core belief of civil disobedience is brought out vociferously in their actions by drawing inspiration from both the West and the East; for instance the Indian freedom struggle or the US Civil Rights movement. Closer home, XR also has an Indian division (XR India), which was formed out of pure activism by a Delhi-based environmental campaigner. Opposed to the traditional NGOs, these groups are majorly people’s movements aiming to avert climatic breakdown and minimise the risk of human extinction. Eco-Needs is another collective which mobilises young people towards bringing an ‘eco-revolution’. However, the Indian government has displayed its endeavour towards localising the SDGs with the help of the ‘whole-of-government’ approach which includes the sub-national governments. It has also stressed on aligning the local plan of the states and the union territories with the larger SDG scheme. Even though the government has not officially spoken about these movements, it seems they are not complaining. Though still at a nascent stage, these mass movements carry the potential of aiding the governmental protocols of environmental protection in the long-run.
Undoubtedly, the global community today stands at the crossroads of balancing between climate change mitigation and human security. India, in this context, can undoubtedly play the vital role of a balancer in the South Asian region. In fact, the region as a whole shares a host of common economic, social and political challenges which can be adequately utilised by the countries to establish a framework of cooperation, collaboration and convergence (3C). Since the region is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and climate-induced natural disasters, it is essential that the region joins hands in achieving the SDGs. In fact, unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it can be observed that the SDGs are transnational in nature, requiring regional efforts, thereby doing away with the dependence on the developed bloc. Mitigating climate change is a priority goal that India can inch towards by pulling together the sub-national agencies in its ambit and channelizing positively the people’s movements in this regard.
