COP26 and Sustainable Development

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COP26 and Sustainable Development

25 Nov 2021
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There has been quite a debate when it comes to fossil fuels and the development of any country. Developing nations are finding it difficult to shut down their coal fired power plants as they are cheap and convenient but keeping them going in the same way is not advisable. Coal which is being phased out of the power system in many industrialized nations is still a dream for many developing and under- developing nations.

27 countries met for the sustainable agriculture action plan of the first week of the COP26 climate summit held in Glasgow. The meeting will have discussions and will lay down some new commitments to make farming less polluting and more sustainable. The Sustainable Agriculture Policy was among the main highlight in which the participating countries at the 26th Conference of parties (COP26). The countries which participated laid out a plan and committed that they will follow a sustainable policy and will invest more in technology.

The countries beside India who agreed to the COP26 agenda are Uganda, Tanzania, New Zealand, Vietnam, Morocco, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, UK, Philippines, Spain, UAE, Australia, Madagascar etc. with 10 more countries signing the action plan.

There is little evidence that developing countries are becoming less dependent on coal as energy demand increases due to urbanization, industrialization, rising incomes and population growth. OECD countries are relying on coal to meet their primary energy demands in the year 2020 and in the non-OECD countries it’s more than 21%. China alone has 57% of coal usage to meet their primary energy demands. Although China has reduced its coal usage since 2007 but when we calculate its absolute usage it has risen by 1.2% from the last decade (2010-2020) and in non-OECD economies it has risen by 2.7% in the last decade. Reduced consumption by OECD in the past decade is around 15-18 Energy Joules but the increased usage by China (+9 Energy Joules) has disturbed the whole matrix. The exponential growth in coal usage by China alone is destroying the whole environment agreement.

Change is Always Better

For developing economies, coal fired plants are cheaper and are easy to build and add to grids that have the limited capacity to cope with the intermittent generation of renewable energy. Coal is cheaper and more secure than gas, especially when the imports rely on shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as they are easier to extract and cheaper than nuclear gas. When it comes to feasibility, they are of that belief that they must go with Coal instead of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. In OECD economies coal is rapidly being replaced by wind, solar, gas fired generation equipment, with advanced systems having battery backup. In non-OECD, innovative forms of energy are non-prevalent and coal is the preferred source of energy.

OECD policymakers need to come up with positive encouragements along with cash and technology transfer benefits so that they can gradually move towards gas, hydro, solar and wind generation and equip their grids to deal with the change in the system from coal to renewable sources of energy. Without proper assistance the coal fired generation system outside the OECD is unlikely to reduce by 2050.

Energy Divide Between Developed and Developing Countries

There is a huge difference between the energy consumption between advanced and developing economies and there is a long way to go for developing economies to reach their advanced counterparts. Per capita energy consumption in the OECD economies is more than three times that of non-OECD arenas. Per-capita energy consumption in the European Union is one-third higher to that of China, five times higher when we compare it with India and more than 9 times higher when it comes to Africa. When it comes to United states per-capita energy consumption it is around three times higher than that of China, 11 times higher when it comes to India and almost 19 times higher than that of Africa.

Some variations are often attributed to geography; energy consumption tends to be larger in countries at high latitudes that require more heating. However, a lot of the gap reflects differences in comfort and consumption.

Unmet Demand of Developing Economies

The huge demand of carbon emissions by developing nations is still a huge challenge for a sustainable environment and all the guidelines laid out by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Emission-free energy sources have to be expanded by several orders of magnitude in order to replace the existing combustion of fossil fuels and to meet the increasing energy demand that the development process entails. In addition, the population of developing countries continues to grow rapidly and is expected to continue to grow over the next three decades, further boosting energy consumption. The population of low- and middle-income countries has increased by 2.2 billion since 1990 and is expected to increase by a further 1.9 billion by 2050 (World Population Prospects, United Nations, 2019).

In 2019, zero emission energy sources met only one sixth of global energy consumption, while the remaining was still fulfilled by fossil fuels. As the rest must have been replaced by renewable sources of energy to meet the net-zero emissions target.

By 2050, the global energy consumption would increase in the slot of (25-75) % based on the data for the last decade. If the increase in the energy consumption is there, we need to ensure that it meets the zero emissions sources to meet the net-zero emissions target otherwise we would have the red-bells ringing for the mankind. From the perspective of developed countries to achieve this target is still feasible as they have capital and technology to ensure that whatever their energy consumption, it’s from zero emission sources. But when we talk about the developing/under-developing economies it won’t be that easy.

Climate Change On Our Mind

Policymakers and environmentalists have emphasized the need to set an ambitious strategy to reach net zero by 2050. But the rhetorical priority on reducing emissions can typically fall short of a decision to place temperature change earlier than alternative development goals, suspending solutions to other issues till climate change has been tackled. In reality, that sounds selfish, unfair, and politically impractical to several policymakers from developing countries, who should be sensitive to other objectives as well. If the conference is to achieve setting formidable and credible goals for emissions reduction, it must demonstrate however they will be integrated with other development objectives.

Already the planet has warmed more than 1 degree Celsius which will have hotter heat waves, severe droughts and sea level rise. Each 0.1°C of more warming has clear and integrity changing impact. Within the IPCC report, scientists showed that 2°C of warming would have exponentially more forceful impacts than 1.5°C. The Intergovernmental Panel on temperature change (IPCC) is unambiguously explicit that humans are liable for the changes which the implications can get rather more forceful if immediate, huge steps aren’t taken to scale back greenhouse emission emissions.

Justice and Where Does India Stand

Another issue will be justice: industrialized countries like the US, which are responsible for most of the current climate change, agreed in Paris in 2015 to help less developed countries adapt to the threats of warming and grow sustainably, for example developing renewable energy projects instead of using fossil fuels. Developed countries have agreed to set up a "climate finance fund" to support both adaptation and green growth. The fund would pay out $100 billion every year. However, only about $80 billion a year is flowing in so far, and there is no plan for a program beyond 2025. Also, many developing country leaders say this amount is insufficient.

First, India must combine emissions reduction with climate adaptation and incorporate environmental justice for people and nature. Justice will include strengthening a range of social protection programs, especially for those facing increasing rural hardship, and investing in disaster risk reduction as extreme weather events become more common.

Nature can be an ally in this. India’s remarkable diversity of habitats, from the snow line to the coast, serve various functions, including sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, reducing vulnerability to climate-related disasters, and providing livelihoods. Unfortunately, unrestricted development increases vulnerability to climate change, especially in environmentally sensitive areas. By viewing biodiversity collapse and the climate crisis as mutually reinforcing problems, India must reverse the trend of watering down environmental laws and the rights of those who depend on nature, and instead rapidly develop regulatory and enforcement capacities. A deep and spiritual bond with nature must be anchored along with technological solutions to combat the climate crisis.

Second, Indian companies play a vital role in complementing government policy. Similar to how the independence movement has steered local industry around a shared vision, India Inc.’s goal in the 21st century should be to promote innovative and inclusive green development. Indian companies must emulate global corporations by making science-based zero-net promises and transparently reporting their progress. Each sector plays a crucial role, from transportation to manufacturing to cement and steel. Success and competitive advantages in other markets with green growth.

Third, India needs data and democratic reasoning to achieve decarbonization and development. Building state capacity can help the country move from reactive decision-making to proactive planning and execution, but India will also need the analytical power to design and implement evidence-based strategies. Center for Policy Research could play that role. Beyond the engagement of stakeholders, this would also encourage coordinated climate policies in India’s institutional arrangements that are currently scattered across a multitude of often isolated ministries, agencies and institutions.

COP26 is a bold move, but the devil is in the details. Fulfilling these commitments through transparent and credible policies would enable India to demonstrate real climate leadership for the rest of the developing world and ensure a better and greener future for its citizens.

Ayush Sharma
Vice President, SOIL Environment Club
PGDM, Class of 2023

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