Praful Bidwai's latest book on The Politics of Climate Change and the Global Crisis – Mortgaging our Future , gives us a good and well-informed perspective on the current status of multilateral climate change negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There is also a detailed critique of India's own efforts to deal with the challenge of climate change, in particular, the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
On the UNFCCC process, one cannot but agree with Bidwai that the “minor gains” which recent negotiations may have delivered, “do not remotely add up to what the world surely needs: an ambitious, equitable, legally binding and effective agreement to stabilise the climate by drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) while coping with the effects of climate change which are already upon us or are in the pipeline”. The author ascribes this to the continuing North-South divide, the asymmetries of power and influence in the existing international order and the marginal influence of “people” participation and a weak reflection of their concerns on the inter-state processes that dominate the consideration of global and cross-cutting challenges such as climate change.
While one should welcome a reasoned and well-informed public debate on issues such as climate change, inter-state processes rarely respond in any meaningful manner to the pressures of public opinion. After all, the Copenhagen Climate Summit was mostly a failure, despite one of the largest mobilisation of civil society groups from across the world. We have the earlier example of the nuclear disarmament movement which barely made a dent on the decisions of powerful states. Therefore, while mobilising people's power is to be welcomed, we may have to live with the inter-state process, with its own dynamics, for the foreseeable future.
India's role
Bidwai has strongly criticised India's own role at the climate change negotiations. Some of the criticism is valid. For example, India did not press the developed countries strongly enough in fulfilling their obligations under the UNFCCC, in particular, delivering deep and significant cuts in their emissions.
Equal entitlement
The charge that India has been fixated on “per capita emissions” as the basis for the notion of equity is unfair. In fact, one could criticise India for doing the opposite, that is, not pressing strongly enough with the concept of equitable sharing of any global commons. The principle that every citizen of the globe (and not just a citizen of India) must have an equal entitlement to the global atmospheric space, is legally and morally valid. To reject this principle on the plea that it “means little in a society as deeply divided and unequal as India's”, is to confuse two very different issues.
By all means, we should do everything possible to create a more equal society, but that does mean abandoning what is a universal principle of equity. More than our rich hiding behind our poor, it is the developed world which is hiding behind our poor. They seek to avoid their solemn legal obligations by pointing to the rich in developing countries. Incidentally, don't they also have unequal societies?
On India's negotiating position, one could certainly fault it for some ill-explained and ill-conceived shifts in the recent past, which have eroded the country's credibility. However, Bidwai's criticism of India's refusal to adopt legally binding quantitative emissions reduction obligations is misplaced. The Indian position derives from what is enshrined in the UNFCCC itself, namely that on account of historical responsibility and current capabilities, it is the developed countries which must take the lead in reducing their emissions.
The UNFCCC recognises that in the course of their development, the developing countries will see a rise in their emissions. The understanding is that the developed world must vacate space to accommodate rising emissions of developing nations. It is not India that is being “negative and obstructionist”. It is the developed countries who wish to eviscerate the Convention even while rhetorically reaffirming its principles and provisions. Bidwai is not alone in buying into the image of India as a spoiler painted by our Western interlocutors.
There is a general failure to recognise that what India is insisting upon is the implementation of the provisions of an international legal instrument, nothing more, nothing less. This can hardly be called “obstructionist” merely because these legal provisions no longer suit certain countries.
The National Action Plan Climate Change has also come in for a great deal of criticism from Bidwai. Yes, it is true that the Plan could have benefitted from a wider process of consultations, particularly with civil society groups. Most State Governments were not consulted in the formulation of the original document, but the intention was to provide a basic framework and approach, while allowing the detailed plans to be worked out through wider consultations. This did happen with the National Solar Mission and the Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, which are now under implementation.
Nuclear energy
A final word about nuclear energy. It is true that the Fukushima disaster has heightened fears about nuclear energy and progress in this regard may be slowed down.
However, the pros and cons of using nuclear energy, the risks and benefits involved, including from the climate perspective, should also be the subject of reasoned public debate, rather than become a casualty of prejudice and unwarranted fear and anxiety. I believe that nuclear energy will continue to be an important component of India's energy security for the foreseeable future.
I welcome Bidwai's enthusiasm for renewable energy and believe that solar energy has a great future in our country. However, despite heavy investment of resources, it will be several years before renewable energy becomes a mainstream source of power in the world.
It is quite apparent that I do not entirely share Bidwai's diagnosis or cure of what ails us on the climate front. However, I applaud the sense of fairness and equity that he brings to the debate. He has the passion of a committed social activist and the intellectual rigour of a serious scholar. His latest book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of what is a complex and often arcane subject. More importantly, it gives us a sense of what an equitable approach to a global challenge like climate change should look like. THE POLITICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GLOBAL CRISIS – Mortgaging Our Future: Praful Bidwai; Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd., 1/24, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi-110002.
THE POLITICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GLOBAL CRISIS – Mortgaging Our Future: Praful Bidwai; Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd., 1/24, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi-110002.
