Cop 21: India sets ambitious tone for Paris deal

OREANDA-NEWS. December 02, 2015.  India has emerged as a surprisingly strong proponent of an ambitious climate deal to be agreed in Paris, having announced its participation in two major new international renewables campaigns.

The country's support for robust climate action marks a notable shift from its past reluctance to co-operate in global efforts to curb climate change. India's 2011 steadfast refusal to support a new, binding global deal nearly resulted in the Durban climate summit's failure.

But it is now signalling a new willingness to play a positive role at the 21st Conference of the Parties (Cop 21), where a post-Kyoto protocol agreement is meant to be sealed. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, alongside French president Francois Hollande, yesterday announced the launch of the International Solar Alliance.

The programme, which will be spearheaded by Delhi and unites a number of African countries, aims to mobilise \\$1 trillion in investment to expand energy access, accelerate solar power deployment and stimulate economic development.

It brings together some 120 countries between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, most of which have abundant sunshine, but not the necessary resources to exploit solar power. India has pledged \\$30mn to the initiative in next five years.

An international steering committee, open to interested counties, will provide the required guidance, direction and advice to establish the alliance. The initiative will help India reach its target of installing 42.7GW of solar power capacity by 2020 and 100GW by 2022.

And the country was one of 20 on 29 November to commit to doubling public investment in clean energy research and development by 2020, under an initiative dubbed Mission Innovation. The nations, which include China and the US, represent 80pc of global clean energy research and development.

Separately, philanthropist Bill Gates has unveiled the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, a group of 27 private-sectors investors that have pledged funding to help new clean energy technologies come to market.

During the launch of the initiatives, Modi urged developed countries to "leave enough carbon room for developing countries to grow", which he described as "natural climate justice", and for all countries to pursue a growth path with "a lighter carbon footprint".

India in its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 33-35pc below 2005 levels by 2030. And it undertook to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in power generation to 40pc of installed capacity by 2030.

The country made meeting its INDC partly conditional on low-cost international financing and technology transfer from the industrialised world, without stating any specific requirements.

But the Indian government did outline an investment requirement of around \\$2.5 trillion in 2015-30 to help it meet its pledges and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Based on its INDC announcement, India intends to meet the non-fossil fuel capacity target by 2030 irrespective of the level of climate finance that it receives, environmental non-governmental organisation the Vasudha Foundation said.

The country aims to add 175GW of new renewable generation capacity by 2022 and expand its forest cover to create a carbon sink for 2.5-3bn t of CO2 by 2030.

India is not opposed to a legally binding agreement, but it would definitely like to see a differentiation in action between developed and developing countries, Vasudha chief executive Srinivas Krishnaswamy said.

"We need to understand that India is coming from an Indian perspective," he said. "No matter what parameters one looks at — whether it is per-capita GDP or the human development index — there is a huge wealth gap between India and other countries."

India's position on climate finance is "not to jettison any climate agreement, but to ensure developing countries have space to grow and achieve the aspirations of their citizens," Krishnaswamy said.

Indian per-capita CO2 emissions were only 1.7 t in 2011-15, compared with 6.7 t CO2 for China and 17 t CO2 for the US, according to World Bank data.

"We have seen a constructive tone from Modi," London-based consultancy E3G's head of climate diplomacy programme, Liz Gallagher, said. The solar initiative shows that Modi is not here to disrupt the talks, she added.

"Obviously this is a negotiation, so we are likely to see little gaming," Gallagher said. "But I get a sense that India really wants a deal and that it is here to play fair."