14 Nov 2022
India pushes for phasing down all fossil fuels, not just coal
India is leading a strong push for the COP27 climate summit to conclude with a decision on phasing down all fossil fuels. The push stems largely from India’s desire to not be singled out for its dependence on coal. The move to expand the focus beyond coal is likely to raise strong concerns from oil […]

India is leading a strong push for the COP27 climate summit to conclude with a decision on phasing down all fossil fuels. The push stems largely from India’s desire to not be singled out for its dependence on coal. The move to expand the focus beyond coal is likely to raise strong concerns from oil and gas-reliant countries.

According to reports, Indian negotiators formally called on the Egyptian Presidency of climate talks for the expanded language to be included in the cover text. The Egyptian COP27 Presidency had its first set of consultations on Saturday with countries over what they would like to see in any cover decision. The Glasgow Climate Pact last year included a pledge by countries to “phase out” the use of unabated coal, before a last-minute push by China, India and the US to change it to “phase down.”

Also, India doesn’t want to be in the company of historical polluters. During the first week of COP27, developed countries desired that all top 20 emitters, including India and China, discuss intense emission cuts and not just the rich nations. But the country, which has adopted the LiFE movement, has maintained that it would not be part of those historically responsible for climate change.

According to media reports. India has the support of  other developing countries in this decision. India blocked an attempt by rich nations to focus on all top 20 emitters of carbon dioxide during discussions on the ‘Mitigation Work Programme’ at the ongoing COP27 conference. There are developing countries in the top 20 emitters, including India, that are not responsible for warming that has already occurred.

As per an analysis by Carbon Brief, the US is the leading historical polluter and has released more than 509 Gt CO2 since 1850 and is responsible for 20 percent of the global total. China is a relatively distant second (11 percent), followed by Russia (7 percent) and India is at the seventh place (with 3.4 percent of the cumulative total).

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