Hon’ble Chairman/Speaker,
1. The Climate Change Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol was held in Lima (Peru) this year. The final decision was reached after long deliberations and intense negotiations between parties. The key focus of the current negotiations were the following:-
(i) Finalisation of elements of the draft negotiating text for 2015 Paris Agreement in view of the Durban (COP 2011) decision to finalise “a protocol, another legal agreement or an agreed outcome with legal force,” applicable to all, by December, 2015;
(ii) Identification of information to be submitted with the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in pursuance of the Warsaw COP (2013) decision wherein it was decided that countries that were ready to do so would submit the INDCs by March, 2015 and other countries would submit their INDCs as early as possible; and
(iii) Enhancement of pre-2020 actions which was part of the Warsaw mandate to be taken forward in Lima.
2. I had the privilege and responsibility of leading the Indian delegation that participated in the Lima Conference. India participated in the Conference with a constructive and positive approach. Our main task was to protect India’s long term interests and emphasize the need for growth and development space to tackle the problem of eradicating poverty, providing energy access to all and address other developmental priorities. In this endeavour, we were guided by the vision of the Government and Cabinet mandate. Our stand in the negotiations was also guided by the principle of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, which is the bedrock principle of the UNFCCC.
3. Against this backdrop, I am happy to inform the House that the Lima Conference took some important decisions and came out with a ‘Lima Call for Climate Action.’ India was able to play an active role in representing the interest of developing countries by constructive cooperation with like-minded developing countries and effective and persuasive presentation of its national position.
4. The Conference decided that the new agreement will be under the Convention and will reflect the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities in the light of different national circumstances. It was also agreed that the new agreement will address all elements that is mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building and transparency of action and support in a balanced manner. The current submissions and views of Parties were captured in the form of an Annex and it was decided to continue discussions on the issue in future meetings of the Ad-hoc Durban Platform (ADP). However, this will not prejudice the legal form of the agreement or the subsequent submission or views by Parties. The draft placed in the Annex text has to be finalized by May, 2015 for being placed for consideration and adoption of Parties in the Paris COP 21 to be held in December, 2015. The recognition that all elements need to be addressed in a balanced manner is a key outcome of the Conference as there were efforts by some Developed Countries to undermine the basic tenets of the Convention.
5. Another key decision was regarding the INDCs to achieve the objective of the Convention as set out in Article 2 of the Convention. Here, it was decided that countries should not backslide from current pledges. This is especially relevant in view of the action of some countries, which had gone back on their Kyoto Protocol commitments. The Lima Conference agreed that the contribution of countries has to be more than their current commitments.
6. The Parties have been requested to communicate their INDCs as early as possible (by first quarter of 2015, by those who are ready to do so). Some Parties were endeavouring to impose an ex-ante assessment of the INDCs in the process. It meant that the INDCs would be mitigation centric and that after countries submit their INDCs, these would be aggregated to ascertain whether the sum total of contributions is adequate to achieve the global goal of containing temperature rise to below 2 degree Celsius by the end of the century from pre- industrial levels. Any gap between the two could mean pressure on countries to re-submit their INDCs or enhance their contributions. However, India and many other countries of the developing world were not in favour of such externally imposed review as it would compromise the sovereignty of Parties in determining their targets as per their national circumstances. We have been able to successfully ensure that countries can include adaptation, finance, technology transfer etc also in their INDCs in addition to mitigation and there is no “ex-ante assessment” to be undergone. Now countries have be submit quantifiable information on the reference point (base year), time frames, scope and planning process, assessments etc. related to the INDCs. This would only be published on the UNFCCC website and a Synthesis Report of the aggregate effect of the INDCs of those Parties that have communicated their INDCs by 1st October, 2015 will be prepared by 1st November, 2015.
7. The enhancement of action in the pre-2020 period was another important issue. It was decided to accelerate action on enhancing the pre-2020 actions like early ratification of the Kyoto Protocol second commitment period, revisiting of targets and conditionalities associated with it and provision of finance, technology and capacity building support by developed countries to developing countries in consonance with Warsaw decisions. The Parties also agreed to organise further Technical Expert Meetings to examine options for further action in the period 2015-2020.
8. On the issue of finance, it was decided that developed countries parties will provide and mobilise enhanced financial support to developing country parties for ambitious mitigation and adaptation action. As hon’ble Members are aware, the Green Climate Fund has been set up and over 10 billion US dollars have already been pledged to it. However, the goal of mobilising 100 billion US dollars per year by 2020 is still a far cry. It was also decided to urge contributors to confirm pledges in the form of fully executed contribution agreements taking note of the fact that at least 50% of pledges made till November, 2014 should be reflected as fully executed contribution agreements by 30th April, 2015.
9. The political consensus across the country on the issue of climate change has strengthened our hands and we were able to project successfully the various initiatives taken by the Government including the ambitious target of generating 100,000 MW of solar energy, doubling of cess on coal for clean technologies, rapid afforestation through the Green India Mission and devolution of CAMPA funds to the states, expansion in wind energy and other Energy Efficiency measures. Many Countries appreciated the aggressive efforts of India on climate change under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi.
10. We are working on the voluntary national goal of reducing energy intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 as compared to the base year of 2005. The recent UNEP Emission Gap report (2014) has recognised India as being one of the countries on track to achieve the voluntary pledges. We are committed to taking pro-active steps on enhancing energy efficiency and expansion of renewable in the fight against climate change. At the same time adaptation measures in agriculture, water resources and urban areas will remain our key priority.
Mr. Chairman / Madam Speaker
The next year is likely to witness a series of meetings to finalise the new 2015 agreement. We will continue to participate actively in the negotiations and ensure that it is rooted in the Convention and its principles and our national interests. I have benefitted from the able guidance and advice of Hon’ble PM, eminent cabinet colleagues and fellow Members of the House, and hope you will continue to support us on these issues. We will continue the dialogue between our Government and hon’ble MPs so that we share and exchange views on this extremely important matter in the coming days.
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