The cost of tackling climate change

In international climate negotiations, developed countries have increasingly argued that large developing countries must take binding emission reduction targets to ensure their participation in the international regime. Recently India and China have been targeted the most to share these reductions. The real question is not about India accepting such targets, but whether these actions can be supported by the international community. For, it is the huge cost of mitigation that keeps most developing countries away from agreeing to this demand. Such targets can have negative repercussions and contradict the development agenda of a country such as India. The agenda pushed by the newly elected government in New Delhi is that of inclusive growth — equitable development focusing on economic growth and poverty reduction. Therefore, any action on climate change which results in diverting resources from basic amenities will not be appropriate. The government has taken steps to integrate climate change concerns in the country’s development plans. The national action plan on climate change is a reflection of the importance that India attaches to the issue. The plan, keeping development as the priority, integrates both adaptation and mitigation issues through its eight missions. But the real challenge is the effective implementation of these missions. For instance, the ambitious solar mission, released in May 2009, is based on the assumption of fast learning and simultaneous drastic cost reduction in solar energy production, which could prove extremely risky. So a cushion to absorb such risks needs to be devised, while not using subsidies to fund the incremental costs. And this is just a beginning. There is a huge potential to promote collaborative research and development and large-scale implementation of commercially viable technologies in the country. A good example is the public private partnership model, which could prove to be very successful for the waste sector in India. India does not have any commitment as yet under the Kyoto Protocol, but it offers opportunities for actions that, along with ensuring sustainable development, can contribute to emission reduction. Under the Bali action plan released in 2007, there is a provision for undertaking nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries. The provision is a positive development in engaging developing countries in the global efforts. The caveat, however, is that it is essential for countries’ sovereignty that only actions that are supported and enabled by technology and finance are measured, reported, and verified. In other words, domestic actions that are undertaken by a country’s own resources should be treated separately. The year 2009 is an extremely important one for climate negotiations as it is expected that countries will come to a new agreement at Copenhagen in December, reflecting the political will of accepting scientific theories. There are two important questions that need to be answered there. First is range of emission reduction for developed countries. And the second is the range and sources of finance and technology available to support the actions of developing countries. Finding an answer to the second question will help countries such as India to commit to nationally appropriate mitigation actions. It is important that these countries undertake an exercise that clearly indicates the incremental cost required from the international community.