Towards an Ambitious and Fair Deal
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CHENNAI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015 PERSPECTIVE | 11 WORLD VIEW Towards an ambitious and fair deal Prelude to the next Why India must resist the attempt by developed countries to dilute the concept of big conflict? differentiated responsibilities SUJATHA BYRAVAN from that of the U.S., Europe or even Chi- KARABEKIR AKKOYUNLU na. The world would likely benefit from Just as the Conference of lessons that India would have to share Will the downing of the Russian fighter jet by the Turkish the Parties (COP) of the from this experiment. armed forces over Turkey’s war-torn border with Syria on No- United Nations Framework Finance is also needed for adaptation, vember 24 go down in history as the ‘Franz Ferdinand moment’ Convention on Climate which is especially crucial for developing of our century? Could it trigger a chain of events culminating Change (UNFCCC) gets countries. According to a recent report in the next big confrontation between great powers? The short under way in Paris, a grow- by Adaptation Watch called ‘Toward mu- answer is no: despite the severity of the crisis (this is the first ing campaign by policy influencers and tual accountability: The 2015 adaptation time a NATO member has shot down a Russian war plane in over fifty opinion-makers in parts of Europe and finance transparency gap’, there are nu- years), none of the actors involved have an interest in escalating military the U.S. is putting pressure on India to di- merous characteristics that adaptation fi- tensions. lute or abandon Article 3 of the Conven- nance must fulfil. There are 10 recom- Yet those tensions do not seem to be going away either. Russian President tion, which refers to common but differ- mendations that include clear guidelines, Vladimir Putin has already stepped up the political war by calling Turkey’s entiated responsibilities (CBDR). Along transparency, improved governance Islamist government “an accomplice of terrorists”, accusing it of supporting with other developing countries, India structures and valid flows necessary to jihadist groups in Syria, buying oil from the Islamic State (IS) and driving has historically given voice to the philos- build trust among countries and streng- Turkey towards the path of radical Islam. He has also turned down Turkish ophy of CBDR, which states that Parties then the global negotiation process. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to meet in Paris, where world should “protect the climate system for heads of state have gathered for the United Nations Climate Change the benefit of present and future genera- Maintain UNFCCC boundaries Conference. tions of humankind, on the basis of equity The Organisation for Economic Coop- Russian officials have announced they are suspending military coopera- and in accordance with their common but eration and Development (OECD) re- tion with Ankara and cancelling visa-free travel for Turkish citizens. Mos- differentiated responsibilities and re- cently published a report stating that $62 cow has advised its own citizens — millions of whom visit Turkey’s Medi- spective capabilities. Accordingly, the de- billion had been mobilised in 2014 from terranean coast every year — to stay away from the country, raided a veloped country Parties should take the “By asking all countries to develop bottom-up commitments to reduce their private and public sources, up from the number of Turkish firms and sent back imports, hinted at halting joint ener- lead in combating climate change and the emissions, any differentiation among countries has been diminished significantly.” $52 billion in 2013. India and other coun- gy and infrastructure projects, and even adverse effects thereof.” Picture shows French President Francois Hollande posing with participants at COP21 tries expressed their annoyance with submitted a draft law to the Duma that Two macho men in Le Bourget, France. — PHOTO: AFP these estimates, arguing that funding would criminalise the denial of the 1915 gen- Obligations of developed countries meant for development aid to various ocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Em- with oversized egos, By asking all countries to develop bot- India has maintained that aptation. The Green Climate Fund countries has also been included in these pire, a charge that Turkey officially rejects. Erdogan and Putin tom-up commitments to reduce their (GCF), which is supposed to amount to numbers. Climate funds are expected to Meanwhile, President Erdoðan has ruled emissions, any differentiation among funds for climate finance $100 billion annually by 2020, is widely be new and additional to development out any apology for what his government in- see themselves as countries, whether rich or poor, has been should be recognised as the understood as an obligation of rich coun- aid because they relate to the historical sists was a legitimate reaction to the alleged the heirs to the diminished significantly. This is because obligations of tries and part of the process through obligations of rich countries for having violation of its airspace by a foreign war- the current global climate regime oper- which they would pay for and support de- captured ecological space. India has plane. This is the official Turkish justifica- defunct Ottoman ates as if all countries are uniformly re- developed countries veloping countries to reduce their emis- maintained that funds for climate finance tion for its role in the crisis. The underlying sponsible for the accumulation of green- sions and adapt to climate change. The should be new, predictable, scalable, and motive, however, is Ankara’s frustration and Russian house gases in the atmosphere and that through rising prosperity. These experts GCF secretariat’s functions and recognised as the obligations of with Russia’s recent military operations in empires, driven by a every effort is equally significant. Thus, say we live in a world that is different activities are guided by and re- developed countries. These con- Syria, officially against IS, but in fact target- the United States, which is accountable from 1992 and that many developing main accountable to the siderations would disappear with- ing a wide range of groups fighting the re- sense of mission to for roughly one quarter of the rise in aver- countries today also have capabilities and UNFCCC. The GCF, if it works out differentiation. gime of Bashar al-Assad, including those restore their nations’ age temperature of atmosphere since pre- responsibilities. Nevertheless, the conse- well, could become the largest There was the impression that supported by Turkey and the U.S. industrial times, and continues as the quence of disappearing CBDR would rip- fund dedicated to climate change, the OECD report was announced Nationalist sentiments have been swell- past imperial glory world’s second largest annual emitter af- ple through duties that rich countries but there are also others that are merely to give a fillip to the Paris ing among Turks on the back of pro-govern- ter China, has made the smallest commit- have towards developing nations in three part of the overall climate finance COP while conducting estimates ment media reporting of alleged Russian atrocities against the Turkmen ments of any industrialised country. In main areas seen to be obligations by the architecture such as the Global In- outside the legal framework of the community of northwest Syria, which has ethnic and historical ties to Tur- contrast, Brazil and South Africa have rich: the right to provide development vestment Fund and the Global En- UNFCCC. Another effort to deter- key. (Moscow claims it is targeting jihadists fighting alongside IS or the al- more ambitious targets than the U.S., space for poor countries; financial sup- vironment Facility for specific cli- mine the contours of the negotia- Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front; Ankara argues that these are civilians de- even though they are responsible for less port; and technology transfer for capacity mate-related projects. The GCF’s exact tion pre-Paris was made at the recent fending themselves against the Syrian regime.) It was in this mountainous than 2 per cent of global anthropogenic development. Since, in a previous co- role, source of funds, and the windows meeting of the 20 major economies, the area that the Russian plane was shot down. As costly as his action might carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Simi- lumn, I covered the issue of development through which it would operate G-20 meet in Turkey. Differentiation, cli- prove, by standing up to Mr. Putin, Mr. Erdogan has already reinforced his larly, India’s renewable energy and ener- space to provide energy services and to post-2020 are still getting clarified and mate finance, and targets for Paris came cult status among his religious-nationalist supporters. gy efficiency goals represent some of the deliver the benefits of economic prosper- should ideally be sharper after COP-21. up at this meeting, which is outside the Some of this might be posturing, but the Turkish and Russian leaders’ ex- most challenging system-wide changes ity (“Plan for Paris: Looking beyond emis- Some countries, including India, have bounds of the UNFCCC. The climate jus- cessive pride and hubris stand in the way of containing the damage to bilat- any country has ever yet undertaken. sion cuts”, August 20), I will concentrate made funding a requirement for actions tice principles of the UNFCCC need to be eral ties, which have been flourishing in recent years. Two macho men with The phrase dynamic differentiation, here on financial obligations and discuss within their nationally determined con- maintained to build trust and work to- oversized egos, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Putin see themselves as the heirs to the predicated on periodic review, is now be- technology transfer in a future piece. tributions. India has asked for a funding gether as a global community addressing defunct Ottoman and Russian empires, driven by a sense of mission to re- ing used by some experts in the U.S.