New Delhi: The United States on Wednesday became the first country to formally exit the Paris climate accord, even as Americans eagerly awaited the results of the presidential election. The country’s formal exit from the accord came more than three years after President Donald Trump, a staunch climate change denier, declared a withdrawal from the climate accord in June 2017.
In December 2015, the world reached the landmark agreement in Paris to combat global warming and step up action for low-carbon growth. The key goal of the agreement is to keep global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrialization levels and limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016 and 189 countries have adopted it.
Crucially, under the Paris agreement, countries had for the first time declared national action plans known as ‘Anticipated Nationally Determined Contributions’ (INDC) that outlined targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. . Although not legally binding, they are based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), recognizing that the obligations of developing countries must be seen in the context of their economic and social limitations.
Whether the United States, which accounts for 25 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions, rejoins the deal now depends on the outcome of the elections. Under the terms of the agreement, countries could send a formal exit notice only three years after the agreement enters into force. This was done to make it difficult for the countries to leave the agreement. Trump’s opponent, Joe Biden, has vowed to rejoin the deal if elected to power. A country can rejoin the deal one month in advance.
The Trump administration began its formal exit from the agreement last November and a day after the country voted for the 2020 presidential election, it has now formally exited it.
Trump had announced the country’s exit from the deal in June 2017 claiming it was’ unfair ‘to the United States and’ biased towards the interests of India and China. “India conditions its participation on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries … the conclusion is that the Paris Agreement is very unfair, at the highest level, for the States. United, “he had said. at that time.
What does this mean for India and its efforts to combat climate change?
In 2015, India played a crucial role in shaping the agreement through the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and LMDC (Like-minded Developing Countries) groups of countries. In October 2015, ahead of the annual Conference of the Parties in Paris, India announced its ambitious INDCs.
It pledged to reduce the intensity of its Gross Domestic Product emissions between 33% and 35% by 2030, below 2005 levels. Crucially, it announced that by 2030 the share of non-fossil fuels in the 40% installed energy capacity. In addition, it set a goal of creating an additional carbon sink to absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide by increasing its forest and tree cover by 2030.
India’s climate action targets, government officials said, will continue under the plan, even as they called the US exit a move that would lead to problems reducing emissions globally.
“We have already said that we are upholding the agreement and that we will fully implement our INDCs, so that will not change with the US position,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the country’s key negotiator at the 2019 annual climate conference held in Madrid, Spain.
Prasad, however, added that the absence of the United States is a major global problem since they are the largest historical emitters and prolific accumulators of greenhouse gases. “Mitigation is important and if they don’t drastically reduce their emissions, it will affect us all. They have also reduced their funding. Although it does not affect our ongoing projects, having more international financing through the Green Climate Fund is good for the deal, ”added Prasad.
Under the Paris agreement, developed countries had also committed to providing funding for the Green Climate Fund, established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This body approves the financing of projects in countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the form of storms, heat waves and extreme rains.
Ajay Mathur, Director General of the Energy and Research Institute (TERI) and India’s chief negotiator and spokesperson at the 2015 Paris conference, said that despite his departure from the Paris agreement, the United States’ role in Future negotiations are more nuanced in reality. He noted that the United States continues to be a member of the UNFCCC, by virtue of which the Paris agreement was ratified, so it will participate in the annual conferences where countries negotiate on climate change.
“Regarding the meetings and discussions related to the Paris agreements, they will have observer status. They will not have a legal seat, they will not have the right to vote and they will not be able to speak unless the chairperson of the meeting allows them to do so. However, they will enjoy full rights at the annual Conference of the Parties as long as the meetings are not related to the Paris agreement, “said Mathur.
The Director General of TERI said that when it comes to India’s interests, the short-term impacts lie in ensuring that there is adequate and affordable energy for all. “They are interested in the sale of energy and gas. We are also interested in the availability of low cost gas. Our real problem is that the gas we are obtaining has a high price. If low-cost gas is available, this would be in the economic interest of India and therefore there is a possibility that we will have fossil fuel agreements between the United States and India, ”said Mathur.
In the long term, Mathur said there will be an impact on the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). “When the GCF recovers in the next round, starting in 2022, we will see long-term problems from the US exit. However, the growth of renewable energy in India is largely occurring through the private sector and not with the support of GCF, ”added Mathur.
America’s departure is extremely important, said Action Aid’s Harjeet Singh, simply because it has a historic responsibility to the world. “Even now, the United States generates a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. When we talk about climate change, the problem occurs over a period of time and therefore it remains the historical responsibility of the US to reduce its domestic emissions but also to provide financing, ”said Singh, Global Climate Leader at ActionAid International .
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