CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

1.Context

Leaders from around 200 countries will gather in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh from November 6-18 for the 27th round of the Conference of Parties, or COP27, to deliberate on a global response to the increasing threat of climate change. At COP27, negotiations are likely to focus on efforts to decarbonize, finance climate action measures, and other issues related to food security, energy, and biodiversity

2.UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, was adopted 30 years ago.

 At present, the UNFCCC has 198 members. The first COP was held in 1995 in Berlin

3.Historic Agreements

 3.1.The Kyoto Protocol COP 3- adopted at COP3 in 1997, committed industrialized economies to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

3.2. Paris Summit- COP21,  ended with the 2015 Paris Agreement in which member countries agreed to keep global warming below 2°C, ideally no more than 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.

3.3.Glasgow Summit COP 26- The previous summit, hosted by Glasgow, ended with the Glasgow Climate Pact that called for the ‘phasing down’ of unabated coal power.

4.COP 27 Agenda

The summit seeks to “accelerate global climate action through emissions reduction, scaled-up adaptation efforts, and enhanced flows of appropriate finance” through its four priority areas of mitigation, adaptation, finance, and collaboration. As per the presidential vision statement, COP27 will be about moving from negotiations and planning to the implementation of promises and pledges made.

5.Various Reports Findings

• Extreme weather events and scientific reports are a stark reminder of the devastating impact of human pressure on the climate and the inefficiency of existing plans.
• These reports, likely to leave an impact on political agenda and environmental diplomacy, have built momentum for the Egypt summit.
•  A recent UN report has warned that “efforts remain insufficient” to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, as per the Paris Agreement.
• The UN Climate Change report says the world is failing to act with urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions despite the planet witnessing climate-enhanced heat waves, storms, and floods after just 1.2°C of warming.
•  Even if the countries meet their pledges, we are on track for around 2.5°C of warming, which will be disastrous.
• The findings are based on an analysis of the latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or country-specific action plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts. The report adds that emissions compared to 2010 levels need to fall 45% by 2030 to meet the Paris deal’s goal

6. IPCC Report

• This year's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report stated that climate change has produced irreversible losses to natural ecosystems and has warned of severe consequences to the food supply, human health, and human activity that are not sharply reduced.
•  As per the report, 3-14% of all species on earth face a very high risk of extinction at even 1.5°C, with devastating losses at higher temperatures in the current situation.
•  It adds that limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 and be reduced by 43% by 2030. Coal-fired power plants operating without technology to capture and store carbon would need to be shuttered by 2050, a warning relevant to India which operates roughly 10% of global capacity.

7.World Resources Institute

1. The World Resources Institute also paints a grim picture in its report. It suggests that the world needs to curb emissions six times faster by 2030 than the current trajectory to meet the 1.5°C targets. Of the 40 indicators examined, none is on track to reach the 2030 target.
2. "Unabated coal-based electricity generation, although declining worldwide, continues to expand across some regions, while unabated fossil gas-based electricity, is still rising globally,” Mitigation measures to keep temperatures below 2°C and the need for climate change adaptation mentioned in these reports are likely to come up for discussion at the COP27

8.India’s Initiatives

• India is one of the 197 countries that has promised to limit the increase to no more than 1.5°C by 2030.
• It is also working on a long-term roadmap to achieve its target of net zero emissions by 2070.
• The Indian government had committed at the Glasgow summit that the country would get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, meet half of its energy requirement from renewable sources and reduce carbon emissions.

9.Analyzing India’s Efforts

1.  India is the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Though India updated its climate pledges in line with commitments made at the previous summit, experts have slammed New Delhi for not setting ambitious targets.
2. The Climate Action Tracker, an independent analysis that tracks government climate action classifies India’s action as “highly insufficient”.
3. It says India’s continued support of the coal industry undermines a green recovery. India had previously come under intense criticism over its stand to "phase down" coal power, instead of phasing it out, at COP26.

10.Conclusion

 A key issue for India at the summit will be financing both — adapting to climate change and limiting fossil fuel emissions. The country wants the $100 billion-a-year pledge of climate funds for developing countries, a promise that remains unfulfilled.

Source: The Hindu