‘Paris agreement exit will hurt US’
NEWDELHI: If the US ends up pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, the move will hurt that country the most, according to Christina Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. She added that India, in contrast, is on track to meet two of its three targets set by that agreement — renewable energy and carbon intensity.
Figueres is one of the movers behind the Paris agreement where 195 nations agreed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The US has since indicated that it is pulling out of that agreement, which makes the discussions and negotiations at the COP24 climate conference in Katowice, Poland crucial for one reason: the world will fight climate change without the US.
Figueres is optimistic that it is the US which will face the consequences this while the rest of the world moves ahead on a de-carbonised path. “....The first date at which the US government can formally, legally leave the Paris agreement is November 6, 2020, three days after the next US election...,” she said.
The US reiterated its plans to exit the Paris agreement at the recent G 20 meeting as well. “If the US ends up exiting for whatever reason, it will only hurt the US because energy, IT and artificial intelligence technology, the whole gamut is irreversibly becoming de-carbonised. Every extra ton of CO2 is a result of lazy thinking, there is no need to contaminate the atmosphere any further. It was necessary last century, not now. If the world moves as it is into electric transportation, most transportation giants are already doing so. Who is going to buy their products in the global market? Young people don’t want to buy their junk,” Figueres added, explaining that COP 24 is in a “very complex situation now, caused, in no small measure, by the position of the federal government of US. The White House position in particular on climate finance promises to developing countries makes it particularly difficult for G 77 (collaboration of 134 developing nations) and China to come to the table with an open mind.”
Figueres hopes that COP 24 will see the adoption of the so-called rule book which is a set of guidelines on the implementation of the Paris agreement.
Figueres is in India now as head of Mission 2020, a collective for pushing countries to deliver on climate promises before 2020, and has been participating in events on air pollution, a big crisis in the country. “Air pollution is an unacceptable crisis in India. Science has already proven that if you live in Delhi you have six years less life expectancy. I am sorry for you,” she said.
Figueres added that it doesn’t make sense for India to import oil for transportation. “Oil is very volatile in price... Using foreign currency to buy oil doesn’t make sense for India.”
“For India, specifically, battery swapping is a brilliant solution, since the overwhelming majority of vehicles on Indian roads are two-wheelers . Electric two-wheelers are also beneficial in terms of combating air, noise pollution.” If it does this, “manufacturing batteries for energy storage , particularly utility scale storage, could be India’s flagship industry. In fact India could lead the world in this sector because it has the technological skills, labour and the expertise with solar and wind power.”
According to Figueres, India on track to deliver on two Paris goals. “On level one, India... may over-achieve its original Paris contribution in renewable energy, it seems to be on track to meet its carbon intensity goal too but not on track on the third level which is land use and forestry...” BENGALURU: A hydrogen cylinder blast resulted in the death of a researcher at the Indian Institute Sciences on Wednesday. Three others received injuries in the blast.
A senior police official, requesting anonymity, identified the deceased as Manoj Kumar, 32, who hails from Chamarajanagar district. The three others injured were i dentified as Karthik Shenoy, Naresh Kumar and Atulya Uday Kumar. They are undergoing treatment at the MS Ramaiah Hospital. “The incident occurred around 2.30 pm, when the researchers were conducting an experiment at the Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shock Wave Research,” the police official.
According to the hospital release “all the injured are critical...”. An Institute spokesperson said an internal inquiry would be carried out into the incident.