Context – Economic survey has pointed out the flaws in global climate action regime.
The Economic Survey noted that the “excessive preoccupation” with meeting the 1.5- or 2-degree Celsius temperature target was putting impossible pressure on developing countries, forcing them to make choices they were not ready for, and diverting their focus and resources away from the more near-term imperatives of improving the lives of their people.
What is the present global approach?
- WEO proposes following key pillars:
- Tripling global Renewable Energy Capacity.
- Doubling the rate of Energy Efficiency improvements.
- Slashing methane emissions from fossil fuel operations by 75 per cent.
- Innovative, large-scale financing mechanisms to triple clean energy investments in emerging and developing economies.
- Measures to ensure an orderly decline in the use of fossil fuels, including an end to new approvals of unabated coal-fired power plants.
What are the flaws in the current approach?
- Excessive focus on artificial means.
- Still scientists have not completely discovered the interconnected nature of climate change. (There is hardly any inequivalence foundationally between extracting earth for one resource over another. Solar panels may generate renewable energy, but solar batteries are formed of materials extracted from the earth’s crust , particularly Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, and some rare earth minerals)
- Lot of hidden costs are not taken into account - switching to EVs requires uprooting the existing network of petrol pumps and creating a new network of charging stations involving all of the above. Unfortunately, all of these “hidden costs” – both from a monetary, and an environmental perspective are not accounted for in the lifecycle costs when advocating for the displacement of fossil fuels with renewable options.
- Need vs greed -> The current Climate Change strategy seems to say that given that our energy needs will continue to rise, we must try replacing conventional fuel with renewables and clean energy – thus making it a substitution issue rather than a global lifestyle issue. What this strategy doesn’t do is attack the root of the problem – overconsumption, which is starker among developed countries. Moreover, do each of us really need multiple screens, even if they are charged by renewable energy sources.
- Global pursuit of energy-guzzling technologies -> developed world is in a mad ‘Scramble for Africa’ kind of rush to usher in the latest and the most expansive AI (Artificial Intelligence) ecosystem. The fact is that AI is an energy guzzler. Even as the data centres are ramping up energy demand, cloud storage facilities, crypto mining, and AI are all expected to increase this exponentially.
- Inadequate climate financing and lack of guilt. -> Research shows that developing countries require ~USD 6 trillion by 2030 to achieve just about half of their existing NDC targets. Against this, only USD 100 billion was pledged by developed countries till 2020, of which only USD 83.3 billion was provided
Iniquities & Hypocrisy
- It has become the vehicle to perpetuate the dominance of the rich and industrialised world by mandating transitions that are more suited to them. Developed countries failures have been sought to be passed on to the rest of the world in the form of calls for enhanced climate action. Scientific organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have strengthened the narrative of the developed countries. Even as it became increasingly clear that the 1.5-degree target would be breached, almost every scientific assessment continued to present scenarios that showed that it was still possible to achieve the target, if only more effort was made.
What is the ‘Indian Way’ – A sustainable lifestyle?
- MISSION LIFE – Lifestyle for environment -> Individual action is the core of Climate Responsibility.