COP 26

The COP26 (Conference of Parties) — the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference —
 was held in Glasgow on Sunday, the 31st of October.
Goal: to prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius,
or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with levels before the Industrial Revolution. That’s the
threshold beyond which scientists say the dangers of global warming — such as deadly heat
waves, water shortages, crop failures and ecosystem collapse — grow immensely.
India’s commitment: India will meet net-zero emissions by 2070, prime minister Narendra
Modi announced at the Cop26 global climate summit at Glasgow on Monday. India was among
the last major economies to commit to net-zero.
Context:
• Net-zero refers to a balance when the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere
is equal to that removed, through carbon sink and technology.
• India was pushing for the amount of carbon emitted to be considered, too, and not
just net-zero. It feels richer nations, the historic emitters, can afford carbon-
absorption technology without significant reduction in emissions per se.
• Though Modi has now set a deadline, it still gives India more time than others. China,
for instance, has set a net-zero target by 2060.
Modi also committed that India would...generate 50% of its power through renewable
energy by 2030, increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500GW by 2030, reduce its
projected carbon emissions by 1bn tonnes between now and 2030 and reduce the carbon
intensity of the economy by 45% by 2030. The commitments could well strengthen India's
hand in pushing the developed nations to commit $100 billion annually as climate finance
support to developing countries meet their green goals. The $100 billion climate finance was
to be set up by 2020 but developed nations have still not committed to this. On that note, the
UK will provide an “India Green Guarantee” to the World Bank so that an additional
750 million pounds is available for India to develop green projects across India.
70% of India’s electricity needs are met through coal. Like India, most emerging economies
are still heavily dependent on coal. They’ve already incurred substantial costs in setting up
coal-dependent energy grids and shifting to renewables isn’t cheap. Take India for instance.
Estimate suggest that a climate-change plan will cost us more than $2.5 trillion through 2030.
To put things in perspective, that’s the entirety of the country’s current GDP! Advanced
economies have historically been big polluters. And, they have to cut back their emissions
more drastically and make room for emerging economies. For instance, India has contributed
only about 4% to total planetary emissions since the 1850s. But today, it’s the third-largest
emitter of greenhouse gases. Places like India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are “countries of
concern” for climate change as per a recent UN report. The more vulnerable these countries
are, the more money they’ll first have to spend to climate-proof their geography and the
economy — While simultaneously making the switch to renewable energy. Climate change
is increasing global income inequality. It’s the poor countries that are facing the brunt of more
extreme weather events. However, part of the problem is that similar to the overall structure
of the Paris Agreement [of 2015] itself, all developed countries are responsible for delivering
the cash. There is no requirement that a given country contribute a set amount of funding,
creating a classic collective action problem where each country is incentivized to free ride on
the efforts of others.