Hopeful Development

As the Paris climate summit (COP21) draws to a conclusion, heated arguments and debates have become a regular feature. These arguments are primarily over the roles and responsibilities of each country in the global fight against climate change. The developed nations denied all the proposals to officially sanction the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) within the current framework. Developing nations, however, went on record to publicly admonish their developed counterparts for hijacking the principle during the summit. France will be playing a big role while hosting the COP21. In 2014, the COP20 held in Lima had attracted over 15000 official delegates and negotiators who had drafted a bill planning towards the investment required towards setting up of sustainable energy all over the world, especially in developed countries. The second week of COP21 witnessed confident negotiators who claimed that they would come to a deal in order to reduce CO2 emissions. However, concerns remained whether developed nations would pay back their debt for overdraft that they have drawn on the carbon space. The larger concern though was regarding the distribution of the funds, where each developing nation campaigned for their need for funds over the other.

CBDR establishes the responsibility for each country to come out speaking about the changes in climate condition. It also looks to establish the difference in economic development between the countries. This principle is also published and stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also distinguishes between the rich countries with historic and growing wealth and the developing nations in need of economic support. When the program for the same was first set up, all countries had agreed to be a part of this phenomenon which would look after the threat that Climate change is likely to pose to mankind. However, it was only after negotiations began during the Paris Agreement that all the developed countries seemed to think otherwise. The stated position among developing nations is that developed nations have reached their level of prosperity primarily because they burnt fossil fuel at an unabated rate; causing climate problems in the first place. He further added that it was hypocritical on the part of developed countries to not take equal responsibility for the same. P.A Osuman, Environment Minister of Gambia spoke highly about the initiative the Indian Government has taken regarding climate change. India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javdekar addressed the media stating that they are looking to capitalize on this climate conference at Paris. He further stated that they are confident about their plans and wouldn’t look to settle for any false promises this time around. “UNFCCC is a global climate constitution. It is fundamental. Any attempt to rewrite or to overwrite will not be acceptable to anybody. Our collective decision should be based on Science, CBDR and Collective Conscience,” Javadekar said.