US, oil-rich nations do not welcome global warming report

NEWDELHI: The United States and oil- and gas-rich nations such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait have not endorsed a report that warned of devastating consequences of global warming, casting a shadow on a climate meet in Poland that experts view as a make-or-break moment for the planet.

At the Katowice climate change conference (COP24), these countries decided only to “take note”, and not “welcome”, the crucial Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in South Korea in October. The report said countries will have to make unprecedented transitions in all sectors to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century. It also said mega cities in India were going to experience severe heatstress and air pollution if that was not the case.

The US and the other countries were part of the deliberations in Incheon when the report was released, but their stand in Poland appeared to be a setback to scientists and activists who say urgent action is needed to fight climate change. In fact, IPCC scientists have predicted that a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in global temperature is likely as early as in the 2030s. In Poland, 195 nations, part of the Paris Agreement in 2015, are holding two-week talks, which aim to flesh out the promises agreed three years ago. Under the Paris pact, richer nations — responsible for the majority of historic greenhouse gas emissions — are expected to contribute funding that developing nations can access to make their economies greener.

But negotiations under way in Katowice to evolve the rulebook for enforcing the Paris Agreement have made little headway a week into their duration amid persisting differences over key issues such as climate finance. Delegates to COP24, as the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is known, are discussing a 307-page draft rulebook that will spell out how various provisions of the agreement kick in to force.

Professor NH Ravindranath of Indian Institute of Science, who was a co-author of IPCC’s fifth assessment report, said Saudi Arabia was a hard negotiator that hired the best people to protect the interests of oil-exporting countries. “The world will have to start cutting down on coal and oil consumption very soon... Climate change concerns will surely lead to increased use of electric cars, rails, metros, biofuels, improved efficiency... All this will lead to decline in demand for oil. So surely Saudis will not be happy,” he said. J oyashree Roy, a professor of economics at Jadavpur University (on lien) and one of the Indian authors of the IPCC report titled ‘Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees’, said, “The special report was published on October 8, 2018, after it was approved by all countries. The Paris agreement was adopted by 195 nations at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in December 2015...So, there is no question of further approval or acceptance...”

Aarti Khosla of Climate Trends, a research and communications organisation, said the approach by Saudi, the US and Russia on the report could certainly serve short-term interests, but it would take the wind from the sails for several small and least developed countries, which are facing the worst impacts of global warming.

“Limiting the worst impacts of climate change requires strong political will. At a time when extreme events continue to build, if nations go back and question fundamentals, there will be less hope for global collective climate action,” she said.

A senior official of the Union environment ministry said the US was present in Incheon when the report was approved and released. “I don’t think this can be taken as a rejection of the IPCC report...They have decided not to welcome the report and applied Rule 16, which means the matter will be discussed again at the next COP. Let’s see how the rest of the Paris rule book comes up and how soon.” Developing nations and least developed countries have been asking developed nations, particularly the US, to take historical and moral responsibility for being one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters.

AT THE KATOWICE CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE, THESE COUNTRIES DECIDED ONLY TO “TAKE NOTE”, AND NOT “WELCOME” THE CRUCIAL REPORT