The Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change recently made his presence known at the virtual 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue. This momentous gathering was hosted online due to the Covid-19 crisis, marking a unique episode in this ongoing series of impactful discussions about international climate negotiations and climate action progress.
The Petersberg Climate Dialogue
Initiated by Germany in 2010, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue serves as a platform for leaders around the globe to hold informal yet high-level political dialogues related to climate change. In 2020, the 11th dialogue was virtually co-hosted by Germany and the United Kingdom (UK). Roughly 30 countries participated in these meaningful discussions, including India.
The UK is set to be the next Presidency holder of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP 25 conference took place in Madrid, Spain, in December 2019. This year’s dialogue holds particular significance due to the dual global crises of coronavirus containment and moving toward implementing the Paris Agreement 2015 in the post-2020 period.
India’s Role and Contributions in the Dialogue
During the dialogue, India expressed its solidarity with the global struggle against Covid-19, emphasizing the need for sustainable consumption patterns to foster sustainable life cycles. India proposed making climate technology an open-source resource available to all countries at affordable costs.
The country stressed the importance of climate finance, suggesting a plan for USD 1 trillion in grants for developing countries. India also highlighted its own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), devised to align with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement over a ten-year span.
The dialogue allowed India to underscore its intent to accelerate renewable energy deployment, thereby creating more green jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector.
The Paris Agreement 2015
Under the Paris Agreement 2015, members of the UNFCCC, including India, pledged to keep the rise in global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100. The Paris Agreement introduced the concept of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which require each member state to devise and maintain successive NDC goals.
The Paris Agreement, replacing the Kyoto Protocol, aimed at dealing with climate change more effectively.
Understanding the Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 and enforced in 2005, was an international agreement that established binding emission reduction targets. It acknowledged developed countries as mainly responsible for the high levels of GHG emissions due to over 150 years of industrial activity.
The detailed rules for the Protocol’s implementation were decided in 2001 at COP-7 in Marrakesh and are referred to as the Marrakesh Accords.
The Kyoto Protocol comprised two phases. Phase-1, from 2005-12, set an emission reduction target of 5%. Phase-2, from 2013-20, proposed a minimum of 18% reduction in industrialized countries’ emissions.
The information in this article is sourced from PIB.
