Fighting climate change will benefit the developing world

Link

Everybody Wins

Fighting climate change will benefit the developing world

Yvo de Boer

In little more than three months, the world must seal an effective climate change agreement in Denmark, at Copenhagen. Such an agreement must be the turning point in the fight to prevent dangerous climate change. It also represents a unique opportunity for developing nations to shift from unsustainable paths of development towards a cleaner, greener future that preserves their hard-won gains in reducing poverty. Yet a misapprehension has arisen over what rich industrialised countries are asking developing countries to do.
Judging by recent media reporting, one cannot escape the impression that developing countries are being assailed with demands to accept legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments, or emission ‘caps’. The fact is that not a single industrialised country is asking major developing countries to accept binding midterm emission reduction targets. The international community, in drawing up the broad parameters for a climate change deal two years ago, acknowledged that industrialised countries must accept binding emission reduction targets. But developing countries are asked only to limit growth of their emissions in line with sustainable development needs, and only if supported through finance and technology from developed countries.
Nations agreed to this because the science on which they founded their judgement makes it clear that, even with binding cuts by industrialised countries in line with historical responsibilities, the world could not avoid dangerous climate change if developing nations’ emissions continue along a business-as-usual path.
Indian officials have said that India is not prepared to take on caps that would impair efforts to eradicate poverty by providing affordable energy. They are right to say so. It would be wrong for the industrialised world to oblige India to reduce its emissions, when it already has one of the lowest levels of emissions on a per capita basis. But the question is whether India and other developing countries can afford not to fully exploit the possibilities offered by international cooperation on climate change.
Without an ever-increasing source of reliable, affordable energy, the developing world will be unable to sustain the high economic growth it needs to ensure a sustainable, long-term shift out of poverty for the majority of its people. Without a global shift to a clean, green economy, it will be forced into increasing competition with
rich countries for energy resources, which only get scarcer and more expensive. India imports approximately 70 per cent of its oil, a figure expected to rise to up to 95 per cent in 2030, unless there is a change in the patterns of access to energy. Even in the worst recession for generations, oil prices are stubbornly high, an indication of what they will be when real recovery occurs.
While India has significant reserves of coal, power utilities will need to import almost 30 million tonnes this year, and the next, to meet domestic demand. While continued use of fossil fuels will remain for some time an important part of the developing world’s energy use, clean production of those fuels and rapid development of renewable sources are the only practical, long-term response.
The economic argument to shift to clean energy is compelling. According to UN data, the global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from $1.4 trillion to $2.7 trillion by 2020, creating millions of new green jobs globally. India can be a major player in this boom, as it has been in the broader global economy in the last decade, or it can decide to play only a minor role. For example, the Woods Hole Research Centre in Massachusetts, US, estimates that 9,00,000 jobs could be generated in India by 2025 in the area of biogas alone. Many more jobs could be created in other clean technology areas like solar energy. One estimate is that 1,00,000 jobs could spring up in India in the solar photovoltaic sector by 2020, with scope to push that figure much higher.
Many developing countries, including India, have plans in place to limit emissions, because their governments see the dangers of not acting, and the benefits in energy, job security and growth potential. Many have also said they will do more, if finance and technology support starts to flow from the industrialised world. The rich countries must this year put a significant sum of money on the table to allow developing countries to do more. There must be a commitment that much larger amounts of money from public and private sectors would follow in the coming years, deployed in line with the priorities developing countries set for themselves.
At the same time, major developing countries could spell out what these priorities are, so they can make a decisive shift towards a more stable, secure energy future. Mahatma Gandhi’s words can serve as a beacon: “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
The writer is executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.