The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 21st November 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

COP-27 Commits to Compensation Fund, but Leaves Important Questions for Later

Context

Recently, India submitted its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at ongoing 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

What is COP 27

• COP 27 stands for the Conference of Parties and is the annual UN Climate Change Conference that takes place in a different host city each year.
• The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC and the COP assesses progress on combating climate change.

 Why is COP 27 Important

• Ever since the first COP in Berlin in 1995, COPs have been used to review what Parties (the countries who signed up) have achieved, and measure progress.
• They are also where negotiations take place for the next round of emissions reductions.
• They are a vital means of monitoring our progress in the goals of the Paris Agreement.

COP 27 Agenda

What is a Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy?

• The LT-LEDS are qualitative in nature and are a requirement emanating from the 2015 Paris Agreement.
  • Under the Paris agreement, countries must explain how they will transition their economies beyond achieving near-term Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets and work towards the larger climate objective of cutting emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero around 2050.
• The Strategy is based on four key considerations that underpin India’s long-term low-carbon development strategy.
  • India has contributed little to global warming, its historical contribution to cumulative global GreenHouse Gases emissions being minuscule despite having a share of ~17% of the world’s population
  • India has significant energy needs for development
  • India is committed to pursuing low-carbon strategies for development and is actively pursuing them, as per national circumstances
  • India needs to build climate resilience
• The LT-LEDS is also informed by the vision of LiFE, Lifestyle for the Environment.
  • LiFE calls for a world-wide paradigm shift from mindless and destructive consumption to mindful and deliberate utilization.

What are the Features of the LT-LEDS?

• The strategy will focus on rational utilization of national resources with due regard to energy security.
  • The transitions from fossil fuels will be undertaken in a just, smooth, sustainable and all-inclusive manner.
• The strategy will promote increased use of biofuels, especially ethanol blending in petrol, the drive to increase electric vehicle penetration, and the increased use of green hydrogen fuel are expected to drive the low carbon development of the transport sector.
  • India aspires to maximize the use of electric vehicles, ethanol blending to reach 20% by 2025, and a strong modal shift to public transport for passenger and freight.
• Low-base, future sustainable, and climate-resilient urban development will be driven by smart city initiatives, integrated planning of cities for mainstreaming adaptation and enhancing energy and resource efficiency, effective green building codes and rapid developments in innovative solid and liquid waste management.
  • The industrial sector will continue in the perspective of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’.
  • India will also focus on improving energy efficiency by the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, the National Hydrogen Mission, increasing electrification, enhancing material efficiency, and recycling and ways to reduce emissions.

What is Net Zero Target?

• It is referred to as carbon neutrality, which does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.
• Rather, it is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by the absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
  • Further, absorption of the emissions can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests.
• While the removal of gases from the atmosphere requires futuristic technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
  • More than 70 countries have promised to become Net Zero by the middle of the century i.e., by 2050.
• India has promised to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070 at the conference of parties-26(COP) summit.