Ahead of COP26, Indian site highlights emissions gap

What is the news?

A day ahead of the commencement of the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Glasgow, Scotland, India has officially endorsed a website – Climate Equity Monitor.

The website was conceptualised and developed by the Climate Change Group at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering department at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Bengaluru, with other independent researchers.

What is the Climate Equity Monitor?

It is a database that aims to highlight the gap between the emissions of developed and developing countries.

Countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and in Western Europe are shown as having a net carbon debt while developing countries, including India and China, having net credit.

The database lists the following:

– Historical emissions

– The amount of CO₂ that can be emitted given the aim of keeping it below 2^oC and 1.5^oC, each country’s corresponding fair share

– The promises of each country to reduce emissions and the existing trajectory of their emissions.

The key fact that the database highlights is that it is only fair that developed countries must commit to steeper targets towards curbing emissions than developing countries.

It also highlights that India is the 3^rd largest emitter of carbon emissions annually but the 6^th largest when historical emissions are considered, and when accounting for the size of its population it is among the lowest per capita emitters.

What is the purpose behind the website?

It is aimed at monitoring the performance of Annex-I Parties under the UNFCCC (developed countries) based on equity and the principle of CBDR-RC (Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities). Existing “tracking” websites on climate policies are based in the global North and routinely do not address the crucial aspects of equity and differentiation

The performance and policies of the Non Annex-I Parties (developing countries) will also be provided for comparison.

The website is intended to debunk the narrative perpetuated by developed world and various NGOs which constantly talks abount what developing countries must do, while demanding greater commitment and action from them.

Source: This post is based on the article “Ahead of COP26, Indian site highlights emissions gap” published in The Hindu on 1st Nov 2021.