Govt to ratify Doha pact

NEW DELHI: Setting an example for other nations, especially the first world, to contain global warming, India on Tuesday approved the ratification of the Doha Amendment that binds certain developed countries to reduce their emissions of Green House Gases (GHGs) till 2020.

The decision to meet the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was taken by the Union cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Kyoto Protocol, that was adopted in 1997 and came into force in February 2005, is an international agreement under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which binds a certain group of “developed countries” (listed under Annexe-I) of its total 192 parties to reduce their emissions.

While the landmark Paris climate change agreement — COP21, that entered into force in November 2016 (during COP22), is for the post-2020 period, the Kyoto Protocol is like the pre-2020 agenda to contain climate change. “In view of the critical role played India in securing international by consensus on climate change issues, this decision further underlines India’s leadership... to global cause of environmental protection and climate justice,” an official statement said.

India ratifying the Kyoto Protocol will also encourage other developing countries to follow suit.

The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was between 2008 to 2012 and the second period — the Doha Amendment — which was adopted in 2012, was to enter in action in 2013 to 2020.

It is yet to enter into force as it requires 144 ratifications out of the 192 parties to the Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol is the commitment of the developed countries — the major cause of global warming due to their higher emissions, to bring these down.

However, unlike the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol does not bind its “developing parties or counties” like India and China (based on the per capita emission) into any kind of obligation to reduce the emissions or set any targets.

The targets are only applicable to the less than 40 countries listed in Annexe-I.