climate regime
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
1/21
Unit 8
Climate Regime fromIndian Perspective
Objectives
After completion of this unit, the students will be aware of the
following topics:
Assessment of Current Climate Regime
Major Climate Policies and Contributions to International Discussion
Major Concerns on Current and Future Climate Regime
Priorities for Restructuring Climate Regime
Introduction
India, being the worlds 2nd most thickly settled nation with a
pullulating middle- and high-income population with
progressively energy-intensive life-styles, has substantial
influence on global energy consumption and thereby greenhouse gases emissions. For instance, the relatively rapid
economic and energy growth rates subsequently the 1990s
(6-7 percent per year) led to a surge in electric power
demand (8percent per year). India is also the home to more
than 250 million individual living on less than US$ one per
day and about 550 million individual without access to
electricity. India occupies 2.4 percent of the worlds
geographical area, supports nearly 17 percent of its
population, and emits less than 5 percent (4.4 percent in
1998) of green house gases emissions (Table 8.1). Green
house gases emissions per capita in India are, thus, very low
(a fifth of the world average), around 1.3 tons carbon dioxide
equivalent as against 20-30 tons in developed nations.
Despite such low per capita emissions, India ranks fifth in
total emissions after the Russia, United States of America,
China, and Japan.
Of all green house gases, carbon dioxide emissions were the
largest and the energy sector contributed most (Figure 8.1).
After enhancing steadily for at least two decades, Indias
1UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
2/21
energy, power, and carbon intensities started to decline
quickly after 1995, due to factors like enhanced share of
service sector in the gross domestic product, and energy
efficiency enhancements.
Table 8.1: Key Statistics for India
2
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
3/21
Sources: UNFCCC (2005g), World Bank (2005), IEA (2005)
This shift proposes the start of an uncoupling of the energy
and economic development, as has historically happened inindustrialised nations at higher per capita income levels.
3UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
4/21
Assuming sustained economic development and extended
dependence on domestic coal reserves, Business-as usual
(BAU) projections propose a rapid rise in green house gases
emissions, with the energy- and forestry-related carbon
emissions totalling to at least 688 and twenty-nine million
tons respectively in 2030.
Figure 8.1: Distribution of Green House Gases Emissions
from India In 1994
Source: UNPCCC, 2005g.
Another study projected that carbon emissions would
enhance by 2.9 percent from 2001 yearly to reach 500
million metric tones of carbon (1,834 MMt carbon dioxide) in
2025 (even with such enhances, projections by ten models
suggest that Indias green house gases emissions would
largely be within the range of six-eight percent of worldwide
emissions still in 2100.
8.1 Assessment of Current Climate Regime
In this section, we will study the progress to date in this
regime the global challenges and the national challenges.
Progress to date
Players mentioned that advancement was essential in
developing road map and institutionalized setting, but dismal
in actual execution, particularly with regard to progress in
green house gases emission diminutions by Annex I nations,
and in the shift of technologies and financial help to
4
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
5/21
developing nations. The Kyoto Protocol is viewed a small but
important step in the right direction to mitigate global
climate change. Institutionalisation of market-established
mechanisms like the CDM was also considered positively.
Global challenges
The global challenges are as follows:
1. Trust building challenge: In order to restore faith
between formulated and developing nations and ascertain
stabilisation of the climate, it was noted that Annex I
nations should fulfil their green house gases emissions
diminution commitments under the Kyoto Protocol andthat Annex I nations which have not ratified the Kyoto
Protocol should make meaningful domestic approaches.
Some participants noted that it is nearly impossible to
persuade India to control the growth of emissions if Annex
I nations fail to achieve their emissions diminution
commitments. Several participants expressed frustration
that some industrialized nations have not initiated any
essential action to fulfil the promises of returning to their
1990 levels of emissions by 2012. For example, the
enhancement in green house gases emissions ofdeveloped nations during the 1990s was nearly as much
as Indias total emissions. IEA projections indicate that the
aggregate carbon dioxide emissions of developed nations
will continue to enhance over the next 3 decades, despite
their responsibilities under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto
Protocol.
2. Compliance challenge: Few players aroused the
problem of abidance as a dispute, as they found that
current authorities does not define distinctly if and howpunishments for non-conformity will be imposed by the
end of the 1st commitment period.
3. Communication challenge: Conveying the correct
selective information to civil society so that all divisions
can take part proactively is looked at a major dispute. It
was noted that in democratic societies as if India, it is
often unmanageable to carry the public to bear short-term
monetary value or inconveniences in pursuit of achieving
long-term benefits like green house gases mitigation. It isimportant, therefore, to raise public know-how and
5UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
ices 22
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
6/21
realising of the co-benefits of climate approaches. While
corresponding with the significance of raising know-how,
some players noted that we should be cautious not to
sensationalize climate information which may mislead the
public. Capturing the attention of political leaders and
creating conditions that prompt the growth of leadership
are considered paramount.
4. Technology challenge: Growth and preparation of
climate-favourable techs are considered a major dispute
as very few instances of productive transfer of
technologies to developing nations were described in the
Annex I Domestic Communications.
Preserving the spirit of Kyoto in the future regime discussions
by turning the issues of global climate change into
opportunities, and building a road map by defining
deliverables at each step of implementation of the climate
regime are two other challenges.
National Challenges
The national challenges are as follows:
1. High dependence on coal and fuel wood: Empoweredwith big coal reserves (judged to be 234 billion tones in
2002); India has an energy system of rules that is
extremely carbon intensive. Indias dependency on coal,
which meets fifty-two percent of its commercial energy
needs, is probably to continue in the near future. Indias
coal production grew to more than 328 million tones in
2001/02 making the nation the third-largest producer
after China and the United States of America. How to
utilize these natural resources in a sustainable way
without raising emissions substantially remains a major
challenge. In add-on, large amounts of traditional biomass
resources consumed for the energy needs of the vast
rural population are exerting pressures on forests and
village woodlots. Hither once more, how to encounter
energy needs without important rises in green house
gases emissions remains a major challenge.
2. Adaptation challenge: India is powerfully referred about
the adaptation to global climate change because its
economy is heavily reliant on climate-sensitive sectors. As
6
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
7/21
sixty-five percent of Indian agriculture is depending on
rainfall, whatsoever negative effects on H2O availableness
because of glacier retreat, decreased rainfall and
enhanced flooding in certain pockets would threaten food
security. Swaminathan and Sinha (estimated that a 2oC
enhance in mean air temperature could decrease rice
yield by about 0.75 ton/hectare. Parikh and Kumar) stated
that a 2oC rise temperature and an accompanying
precipitation change of +7 percent could reduce farm
level net revenue by 9 percent. Global climate change can
exacerbate the drought effects in 150 of the nations
poorest districts, where it is a perennial feature. In the
absence of protection, a one-meter low lying rise could
displace 7 million individual and submerge 500,000
hectares of land (UNFCCC, 2005g). How to enhance the
adaptive capacity of both the individual and the
ecosystems is thus a big challenge.
3. Capacity challenge: Bettering human being and
institutionalized capacity to measure benefits and costs
of, and to formulate adaptation approaches to, global
climate change is taken as exception.
8.2 Major Climate Policies and Contributions to
International Discussion
Being a growing nation, India has no responsibilities to
reduce green house gases emissions under the UNFCCC.
India initiated a number of approaches and measures for the
adaptation and mitigation to global climate change. In 2000
alone, energy approaches concentrated carbon emissions
growth by 18 MMtabout 6 percent of Indias gross energy-related carbon emissions. Although, as Indian industry is still
highly energy-intensifier equated to formulate nations, there
is considerable room for enhancement.
India ratified the UNFCCC on tenth June 1992 plus signed it
on 1st November 1993. It assented to the Kyoto Protocol on
twenty-sixth August 2002 and entertained Conference of
Parties 8 in Oct 2002, when the Delhi Declaration on Global
climate change and Sustainable Development were adopted
to give an impetus to global discussions on adaptation later
on. It submitted the 1st Domestic Communication in 2004.
7UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
8/21
While there has been some apprehension on Indias
participation in the recently announced Asia-Pacific
Partnership on Clean Growth and Climate, many participants
maintained that India is entrusted to the global regime
constituted by the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol. Indias
extensive experience with Activities Implemented Jointly and
Global Environmental Facility projects helped the nation to
take a proactive role in initiating CDM projects. Insofar as
scientific research is concerned, Indian scientists played a
key role in global efforts, like the Global Observing System,
World Climate Programme, and the International Geosphere-
Biosphere Programme.
8.3 Major Concerns on Current and Future
Climate Regime
Developmental and economic concerns
The United Nations Development Programme places India at
advanced level of medium human development, ranking
127 on the listing of 183 nations (UNDP, 2005a). The
overruling priorities of India, thus, are economic growth (with
a target gross domestic product growth rate of 8 percent and
the doubling of the per capita income by 2012), poverty
alleviation to accomplish ten percent diminusion by 2012 and
provision of basic human needs to its population. Attaining
these priorities will need an essential enhancement in energy
economic consumption, both at the micro and the levels, and
incidental boost in green house gases emissions. Addressing
global problems like global climate change while continuing
to develop is a major concern in India.
India is powerfully referred about energy protection, as itconfronts serious energy shortfalls. India is highly dependent
on coal, and it has just 0.8 percent of the worlds experienced
oil and natural gas resources. The World Energy Outlook
designs that Indias dependence on oil imports will grow to
91.6 percent by the year 2020 A few players remarked that
the current high fuel prices in terms of PPP are serving as
an automatic check for keeping down expelling in India.
Assuming an energy growth rate of 5 percent per year, the
demand from power sector will enhance from 120,000 MW to
about 400,000 MW in 2030. At that time, the power
8
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
9/21
generated from coal-based power plants would enhance from
the existing 67,000 MW to 200,0000 MW, which in turn
would require important build-up of thermal power plants
and large scale expansion of coal areas with important
significances for green house gases emissions. How to give
rise to energy from the coal sector with minimal green house
gases emissions is, hence, a major issue.
India made appreciable attempts in pushing renewable
energy the effect on date is however low as these
technologies are still high-priced. The most recent national
energy outlook predicted that it would be unmanageable for
renewable energy to exceed 3 percent of the total energyissue. Concern on ways to make these renewable energy
technologies low-priced to Indian society was conveyed.
The concerns on Indias energy protection led to a
discussion on its stance on mitigation commitments. few
players contended against the relevancy of such footing as
large developing nations and key emitters in reckoning
the future green house gases emission diminusion
commitments, and noted that indirect pressure from
Annex I nations was totally unjustified and would notpositively contribute to the discussions on the next
regimen. They mentioned that cap and trade emission
trading is not necessarily appropriate for nations like India
in the future regime. Murthy et al. For instance, reported
that a 30 percent carbon dioxide diminusion over a period
of thirty years can lead to a come in the gross domestic
product by 4 percent and an enhancement in the number of
poor by 17.5 percent in the thirtieth year. Westskog and
Kallbekken described that the efficiency gains obtained by
participating in emissions trading cannot offset theeconomic risks incurred by taking on binding commitments.
Others insisted that developed nations should first fulfil
their own commitments before requiring developing nations
to take such commitments.
Equity-related concerns
Few players noticed that climate change was predominately
because of the technological revolution and the use of fossil
fuels by modernized nations for the accomplishment of
their current stages of successfulness, and that
9UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
10/21
underdeveloped nations, like India, have not importantly
contributed to the issue, even though the latter would be
the most affected due to its low adaptive capacity. As India
passes off less than 5 percent of the worlds green house
gases emissions but has 17 percent of its population,
and currently 57 percent of its population do not have
access to electricity, several participants felt that it is
premature for India to take any legally-binding green house
gases emissions diminution commitments. Although, some
participants argued for India making realistic progress in
reducing its emissions growth trends so that it could be a
positive signal to global community.
Figure 8.2: CO2 Emissions per GDP Using Purchasing
Power Parities in Selected Countries
A concern was its involvement regarding the criticism from
Annex I nations that India is not doing sufficiently in the
green house gases mitigation efforts. Some participants
noted that such criticism is both unwarranted and unfair, as
the carbon dioxide intensity of gross domestic product at
Purchasing Power Parity in India is much lower than that of
OECD and world averages and some developed nations
(Figure 8.2).
Market mechanisms-related concerns
Players mentioned a speedy change in thinking of the
Indian policy-manufacturers and industry leaders
considering the CDM from comprising excessively negative
to excessively affirmative. India is at present a contributing
nation in the CDM, as more than hundred projects worth
more than US$ two billion were approved and more are in
the pipeline to be approved by the domestic CDM authority.
Although, participants conveyed concern that only seven
10
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
orld
OECD
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
11/21
out of 107 projects were recorded by the CDM Executive
Board as of one Nov 2005 and that most projects developed
to date are unilateral. Of the seven projects approved by
the Clean Development EB, 3 are one-sided. Hence, some
considered that the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol was not
maintained.
A couple of players admonished against impossible
anticipations on the CDM in concern with technological and
financial transfers and prompted that the CDM would at
best meet only four-fifteen percent of the gap in the worlds
demand for CER, which understands to 275 to 885 mt
carbon dioxide eq. per year. They noted that the realconcern was to examine how far developed nations would
indeed be forthcoming in relation to the apportionment of
the cost of emission moderation standards taken in
developing nations. Several issues were raised on the slow
and composite Clean Development approval processes
which were similar to those noted in the domestic approach
study on the Clean Development execution.
Few players conveyed concerns that the Clean
Development did not importantly enhance the conveyanceof technologies or finance as primitively envisioned at the
time of developing the Clean Development. Others were
pertained about the high transaction costs because of the
extremely complex policies of the Clean Development
approval and execution process, long lead times, low price
of CERs, and cut down demand for CER, especially due to
the withdrawal of the United States of America from the
Kyoto Protocol and the existence of Russian and East
European hot air. Fear was also raised on the relatively
low share of Clean Development projects with sustainablegrowth benefits as against a large share of projects, like
landfill methane recovery, and decomposition of
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and nitrous oxide. Some
participants raised concern that there is a very limited
Clean Development market, especially for small-scale
projects. Many participants strongly argued against utilising
current ODA for Clean Development. A few participants
noted the need for an organised inquiry on why the Clean
Development did not fulfil expectations on sustainable
growth and technology transfer.
11UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
12/21
Some experts indicated, although, that India is in the
process of discovering market-based mechanisms and that
it should acquire as much benefit from the Clean
Development as possible while following the standards of
the game precisely. Major opportunities include demand-
and supply-side efficiency measures, fuel switching from
coal to gas, afforestation, and power transmission
enhancements. Over the next decade, 120 million tons of
carbon mitigation could be approached at a cost of $0-15
per ton avoided (Chandler et al., 2002).
Technology development and transfer-related
concerns
Players mentioned that very elite instances of productive
transfer of technologies were described in Annex I Domestic
communications, and that information networks and
capacity-building were often included under technology
transfer. It was noticed that critical technologies which can
have important impact on de-carbonization have been out of
reach of developing nations as of both prohibitive costs and
the existing IPR regime. India has a coal-based energy
construction and is expected to predominately use coal in itsenergy mix over the next 100 years; hence clean coal
technologies and the production of energy through
integrated gasification and combined cycle route are very
significant.
Even though the promotion of renewable energy is one pillar
of Indian mitigation approaches, renewable energy has
limitations in terms of technology and cost. These
observations led to an argument that technology growth and
transfer relating to clean coal technologies and renewable
energy technologies were critical for Indias mitigation
efforts.
A concern viewing limited pattern on nuclear energy between
developed and underdeveloped nations was also aroused. As
the present regime does not adequately address growth and
transfer of climate-friendly technologies, some participants
opined that pacts, like the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean
Energy and Development which targets to cover a broad
range of technologies (clean coal, IGCC, energy efficiency
12
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
13/21
Carbon Capture and Storage, civil and nuclear energies,
Combined Heat and Power, etc.) would be practicable.
Adaptation-related concerns
India is extremely compromising to the affects of global
climate change, therefore, adaptation is a essential problem.
The majority of the Indian population (agricultural, coastal
fishing and forest-dwelling communities) is susceptible to
shifts in weather systems and ecosystems resulting from
global climate change. Diminishing water resources due to
changing climate was another point of concern.
Contempt such extreme point exposure, explore on theexposure of India is very determined, and the few subsisting
studies focus almost exclusively on coastal zones and
agriculture. A concern was aroused with respect to the lack of
focus on impacts and doubt in forecastings of local and sub-
domestic impacts. Some participants emphasised that
adaptation approaches should be established on the sound
science of vulnerability judgment and raised a concern that
very few instances of impacts of global climate change from
Asia in general, and India in particular, are available in IPCC
reports to date.
Firm concerns were carried about inadequate financial
resources, weak institutionalized mechanisms, the lack of
research on adaptation problems, and the failure to integrate
adaptation concerns in growth planning in India. Participants
noted, for instance, that water resource growth plans for the
next 50 years do not discuss the impacts of global climate
change at all, even though it is well-known that global
climate change is already negatively influencing monsoons,
water flow in rivers, and groundwater recharge.
Financing-related concerns
A concern was elicited that climate-related support under
current regime is both unequal and irregular. For instance, it
was mentioned that against the pledge of US$ 2.75 billion,
GEF allocation during the second replenishment period was
only about US$ 648 million. Only 7.2 percent of bilateral ODA
was targeted for global climate change-related activities.
Balancing publicly-funded Research and Development with
13UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
14/21
private sector investment funds is looked at a major dispute
to deal climate problems in the future regime.
Capacity Concerns
The support for climate-related actions in India is small
exclusively a fraction equated with many nations of the
industrialised domain. Accordingly, the number of global
climate change investigators and psychoanalysts in India is
much smaller than in the developed nations. Even though
452 researchers were involved in the preparation of the
initial domestic communication, very few of them are working
on global climate change continuously. Policy research on
global climate change is very limited. Some participants
noted that there are very few studies on the potential
impacts on the economy of controlling green house gases
emissions growth by 3 or 5 percent, compared to the BAU
scenario.
8.4 Priorities for Restructuring Climate Regime
Indian participants identified a few options for strengthening
the future climate regime (Table 8.2).Market-based mechanisms
Most participants argued that: (a) the Kyoto process and its
flexibility mechanisms should gain further momentum in the
future regime, (b) the nations which ratified the Kyoto
Protocol should make use of the CDM more proactively, and
(c) the nations which have not ratified it should initiate CDM-
like mechanisms.
Structural reforms to the current CDM process attracted
major attention in consultations. Many participants notedthat current CDM approval process, which is complex with
high transaction costs, should be streamlined through
suitable reforms of the CDM Executive Board. Participants
underscored the importance of assurances on: (a) continuity
of CDM beyond 2012, and (b) delaying the registration
deadline beyond December 2005 for projects hoping to count
CERs from activities initiated since 2000. Expanding the
scope of the CDM to encompass sector-based or policy-based
CDM was considered especially desirable, as India has many
opportunities for energy efficiency enhancement.
14
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
15/21
Table 8.2 Options for Strengthening the Climate Regime
beyond 2012 from India
As sector-based CDM would allow the growth of projects
without pre-set limitations in terms of the territorial coverage
or enabling instruments, it is considered as an evolutionarystep through which developing nations like India can enhance
their participation in the regime. There was also an opinion,
although, that sectoral baseline setting might lead to
capping, and that the CDM should be limited to a project-
based strategy due to enormous technical difficulties in
setting sectoral baselines. Moreover promotion of one-sided
CDM in the future regime was also considered useful, as such
projects may entail relatively lower transaction costs due to
project developers not requiring protracted negotiations for
emissions diminution purchase agreements.
15UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
16/21
Technology development, dissemination and
diffusion
Many players mentioned the necessitate for dealing critical
climate-favourable technologies as global public goods and
proposed that reconstituting the IPR regime by the lines of
strategies taken to combat HIV/AIDS could be a way forward.
One of the alternatives advised was to place clean
technologies under limited public domain and specify the
extent of patent security for such technologies especially in
developing nations. Another option could be to set up a
mechanism for the purchase of patent rights of certain
technologies through a global technology acquisition fund.While developing nations would not be needed to pay any
license fees for such technologies, the patent holder could
continue to receive license fees for their use in industrialised
nations.
Other strategies for technology transfer (e.g., shared
international IPR along the lines of agricultural technologies
by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research, compulsory licensing which modifies the
government to grant a license to a domestic manufacturer ofa technology who in turn agrees to pay royalties to the
patent holder, and bilateral negotiation along the lines of
Merck Agreement and Costa Rica on biodiversity may also be
relevant for future regime discussions. Established on the
notice that the major global mechanisms, like CDM, GEF, and
Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) have not even succeeded
in promoting dissemination of decarbonisation technologies
to developing nations, participants noted the need for
adaptive research and growth at domestic level and
enhanced funding at global level, especially for energyefficient technologies, through the set up of a clean
technology acquisition fund or a global technology venture
capital fund.
Although the Indian parliament enacted the Energy
Conservation Act 2000, allowing for the efficient use and
energy conservation, participants noted that current energy
efficiency in major Indian industries was only around 32-33
percent and that increasing it to 40 percent could reduce
green house gases emissions growth considerably. For
16
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
17/21
instance, Schumacher and Sathaye established that energy
savings of up to 38percent could be approached in Indias
cement industry through investments in energy efficiency
technologies for existing and new plants. Similarly, Chandler
reported that demand- and Supply-side measurements alone
could avoid forty five million tons of carbon discharges.
Participants felt that regional agreements like the Asia-Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate could be
complementary to engineering preparation attempts under
the future climate authorities.
Adaptation
Players overwhelmingly supported the debate for making
more robust future climate authorities to address adaptation.
Believing the information that the research capacity on
vulnerability and adaptation in India was limited and that no
practical instances of adaptation measures in Asia were
reported yet in IPCC reports, participants noted that the
future regime discussions should facilitate measures for
toughening research capacity on adaptation. This is
especially relevant as doubt about the local impacts of global
climate change is a major bottleneck for planning reserveadaptation approaches. Many players underscored the
importance of mainstreaming adaptation in natural resource
management and commended that future regime model
should give boulevard for treatments on such options.
Disgruntled with current global mechanisms for funding
adaptation, players distinguished that the flexibility of GEF
guidelines should be bettered in the future regime, so that
GEF funds could be used for enhancing coping capacities at
the local level. Some players recognized the need for tackling
adaptation outside voluntary agreements, possibly through
the design of an adaptation protocol if essential, with well-
defined commitments. Although, some participants queried
the suitability of adaptation for designing a separate protocol
and stressed that it is not necessary to create it from scratch,
as there were other windows of opportunities. Likewise, some
participants advised caution in utilising the market-based
mechanisms (vouchers, credits, etc.) for facilitating
adaptation in the future regime, as they recognised that
adaptation and mitigation are not alike. The need for utilising
17UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
18/21
global insurance funds to accompaniment adaptation in
future regime was also recognised.
Capacity-building
Capacity-building towards planning coherent data reporting
initialises for green house gases inventory, collecting data for
formal and informal sectors of the economic system, and
guiding detailed and fresh measurements of Indian emission
coefficients was considered crucial. Capacity building in
scientific assessment of the impacts of global climate change
and potential adaptation approaches, especially in water
resources sector, were also considered vital.
Other issues
Players mentioned that the succeeding government must be
compromising sufficiency to punctually suit domestic
considerations (for example., alleviation, coal-based energy
mix, need for poverty, high fuel prices in terms of Purchasing
Power Parity, energy shortage, in India). The need for
creating a better incentive structure in the future regime was
also emphasised as a way towards global participation and
for more effective involvement of developing nations. As aninstance, the idea of a pledge and brush up with help
strategy was presented. The idea is that reflecting national
interests, priorities and capacity, a developing nation would
announce its pledge for containing green house gases
emissions development. If a nation is able to fulfil its
commitments, more funds for adaptation and climate-friendly
technologies are furnished. The provision of help can create
inducements for accomplishing commitments, although such
commitments are purely pledges and not binding. The
participation of the United States of America in a globalframework was also pointed out as an incentive for India to
take on commitments in future.
Future climate regimen should target to bridge a number of
existing gaps in the current regime in India. They include
participation gap (gaps in the ability of negotiators and civil
society between developed and developing nations);
relevance gap (relevance of various policy instruments to suit
national circumstances) and resource gap (gap between
needs and available resources); perceptual experience gap(gaps in understanding of problems including differential
18
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
19/21
obligation, capacity and commitment); and, policy culture
gap (gaps in approaches targeted at green house gases
adaptation and mitigation).
8.5 Student Activity
Search the technology development and transfer-related
concerns in the recent decade in India.
8.6 Summary
India plays a important role in the problem of global climate
change not only as a rapidly developing country with growing
Green House Gases emissions, and as a nation most probably
to experience the negative effects of global climate change,
but also through intellectual contributions to the global
debate. Although, from a national perspective, India is yet to
develop a coherent position on global climate change and
appropriate approaches for global negotiations perhaps
because the global climate change debate in India is still
hedged by several uncertainties on local effects, and costs of
adaptation and mitigation initiatives.
Indian policy-makers are urged to pursue approaches that
take advantage of synergies between climate protection and
the overriding growth priorities to simultaneously advance
both. In this connection, India should be an active and
decisive partner in climate negotiations through focussing on
approaches, like the CDM and other innovative mechanisms
that will limit Green House Gases emissions and at the same
time help achieve sustainable growth. As India is also the
home to several millions of vulnerable communities and
about 550 million individual without access to reliable
modern energy services, Indian negotiators must ascertain
that the future regime would empower and enable them to
respond to global climate change and its effects
appropriately.
8.7 Keywords
Business-as usual: It proposes a rapid rise in green house
gases emissions.
19UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
-
7/29/2019 climate regime
20/21
Participation gap: Gaps in the ability of negotiators and
civil society between developed and developing nations.
Relevance gap: Relevance of various policy instruments to
suit national circumstances.
Resource gap: Gap between needs and available resources.
Perceptual experience gap: Gaps in understanding of
problems including differential obligation, capacity and
commitment.
Policy culture gap: Gaps in approaches targeted at green
house gases adaptation and mitigation.
8.8 Review Questions
1. Evaluate the current climate regime.
2. Highlight the features of the major climate policies and
contributions to international discussion.
3. Discuss the major concerns on current and future climate
regime.
4. Describe the priorities for restructuring climate regime.
8.9 Further Readings
Books
Alan E. Boyle, Land-based Sources of Marine Pollution:
Current Legal Regime, Marine Policy, Vol.16, 1992.
Louis Sohn, The Stockholm Declaration on Human
Environment, Harvard International Law Journal, Vol. 14,
1973.
IPCC, 2006: IPCC Guidelines for national greenhouse gas
inventories. Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Global
climate change, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge. accessed 02/07/07.
Web Readings
http://enviroscope.iges.or.jp/modules/envirolib/upload/169/att
ach/03_india.pdf
20
Notes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
IT Applications in Port and Shipping
http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.htmhttp://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.htmhttp://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.htmhttp://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.htm -
7/29/2019 climate regime
21/21
www.esd-asiapacific.com/fasid/kp/beyond.html
21UNIT 1Introduction to Port and ShippingNotes
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________