20-25% emission intensity cut, but no legally binding agreement

With less than a week to go for the Copenhagen conference on climate change, India followed the China path and announced its willingness to effect a 20-25% cut in carbon emission intensity from 2005 levels by 2020.

The announcement was made by environment minister Jairam Ramesh in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Emphasising that this would not in any way compromise India’s negotiating position in Copenhagen, Ramesh pointed out that the country was already on the path to reducing its emission intensity.

He said that there has been a 17.6% decline in the 15-year period between 1990 and 2005.

Based on this and a variety of other exercises, the Planning Commission has calculated that a further 20-25% reduction from 2005 levels was definitely do-able by 2020, he said, adding that this action by India was purely voluntary and part of a domestic commitment. “This is not legally binding. We are just telling the world that India is ready to take on this commitment,” he stressed.

DNA was the first to report that the government would announce a quantitative
target for carbon intensity reduction in the run-up to the Copenhagen meet in a bid
to gain brownie points. Carbon intensity is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP and does not represent an absolute emission figure.

As Ramesh himself said, the quantum of reduction that he announced on Thursday is not startlingly new, nor does it represent a deviation from existing policies. It is really a matter of packaging and designed to position India for the tough negotiations ahead in Copenhagen by presenting it as a “dealmaker” rather than a “dealbreaker”.

Consequently, even an environmental hardliner like Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment, raised no objections. “The minister has simply reiterated what India is already doing,” she said. But she warned, “What we fear is the magic number that was announced is part of a global strategy to move to a pledge and review system. In other words, every country will pledge domestic commitments and do away with an international legally binding system of emission cuts. This will be disastrous for the efforts to cut global pollution because it will allow the world’s biggest polluters like the US to get away scot-free.”

However, Ramesh justified setting domestic emission intensity reduction targets by stressing that India has to show “flexibility” and “action” to take on a leadership role at Copenhagen. “We have to come up with an alternative development model,” he said.
He said the 12th Five Year Plan will adopt a low carbon strategy for growth and development through a series of policy measures in various sectors like automobiles, building, power and forestry. Although most of these policy measures have already been announced, Ramesh spelt them out again. For instance, the government will legislate mandatory fuel efficiency standards for vehicles by the year 2011.

It will also come up with a model for energy conservation codes in buildings and recommend to the states to make this code mandatory in all buildings. The government plans to make energy efficiency certificates mandatory for industry and it will ensure that 50% of all future coal-based power plants will use clean coal technology.

“If there is an equitable agreement at Copenhagen, let me assure you that we are prepared to do even more,” Ramesh declared. He assured Parliament that showing flexibility does not represent compromise.

He spelt out three non-negotiables for India at the Copenhagen meet. One, no legally binding emission cuts. Two, no legally binding peaking year for developing countries like India. Three, no international scrutiny of mitigation actions that are no supported by international finance and technology.