New Delhi: Adaptation issues, coupled with finance and technology transfers for developing countries, will top India’s agenda at a key global climate change conference starting in Morocco on Monday, signalling a continuation of its efforts to get industrialized developed nations to do more to halt global warming.
The 22nd meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, from 7 to 18 November.
Experts cautioned that India should go to Morocco with a clear position on ‘loss and damage’ as CoP22 will see a thorough review of what is called the Warsaw International Mechanism. This mechanism was established at CoP19 (November 2013) in Warsaw, Poland, to address the loss and damage caused by climate change—extreme weather events as well as slow onset events—in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
The Morocco meeting comes just after the landmark Paris climate agreement came into force on 4 November—a new global deal where 197 countries agreed to cut down global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limit the rise in average world temperatures to “well below” 2 degree Celsius over pre-industrial times.
“Sustainable lifestyle, climate justice, finance, technology transfer and enhanced pre-2020 actions are going to be our focus areas at Morocco,” said a senior environment ministry official, requesting anonymity. “Mobilizing finance in the pre-2020 and post-2020 period is a huge concern area as well. Adequate and predictable climate finance, especially from funds under the convention, is also needed for successful implementation of the Paris deal.”
The official said India will also focus on sustainable lifestyle issues, which found a place in the Paris agreement after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for its inclusion.
“India has always followed a path of sustainable lifestyle which is based on the principle of need-based consumption. We will continue to push for it at Morocco CoP as well,” the official added.
“Issues like pre-2020 action, finance and technology transfer are overarching issues. Besides them, loss and damage is going to be the most important issue as the Warsaw International Mechanism will be reviewed at CoP 22. Warsaw mechanism is the fulcrum on loss and damage under UNFCCC. Therefore, India should have a clear position on it,” said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general at the Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi-based think tank. He pointed to the need for a globally funded insurance mechanism for small, poor and marginalized farmers to help them tackle the effects of climate change.
Adaptation to climate change will also figure prominently at Morocco and India will stress on the urgency to take adaptation action.
The government believes adaptation in the agriculture sector is a key issue for developing countries like India, especially from the perspective of food security.
“There will be issues like funding for pre-2020 action and technology transfer, but Morocco is all about adaptation,” said Rakesh Kamal, a climate change expert.
The Paris agreement was to come into force on the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 parties to the convention, accounting for at least 55% of total GHG emissions, submit their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval. On 5 October, the threshold for entry into force of the Paris agreement was achieved and thus it entered into force on 4 November. At present, 97 countries have ratified the convention.
These signatories—called parties—will also meet in Marrakech alongside the COP22.