India and China push to embed in climate diplomacy the idea that the more advanced countries must follow more ambitious greenhouse gas cutting paths than developing countries. Based on the CBDR principle that is part of the baggage of the Paris agreement
The proposal replaces the European proposal to put a date for stopping fossil fuels
(sustainabilityenvironment.com) – Choose between differentiated paths to reduce emissions instead of committing to a fixed date to permanently eliminate fossil fuels. This is the joint proposal that India and China are working on in the G20 to put global climate action on new tracks. Leaving aside the – fundamental – fossil node to focus step by step on what each country can do to reduce its footprint.
This is what is filtered by some officials of the Indian government about the intentions of New Delhi, the rotating president of the G20 in 2023. At the September summit, reports the Reuters agency, the final statement could talk about climate action differently and include the expression “multiple energy paths” (multiple energy Pathways). There would already be convergence on the part of Beijing and South Africa.
How does reducing emissions help the environment and What does differentiated pathways mean to low emissions?
This is no small change. Climate diplomacy works with an incremental approach and consensus. The texts of the final communiqués are consolidated and filed word by word and, usually, changes from one year to the next are minimal. Introducing this new option therefore requires many diplomatic efforts to build a sufficiently broad and strong consensus network.
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Also because these three simple words would greatly change the climatic trajectories of individual countries. Not explicit, but well present, this option suggests that it is the richest countries that must take the most drastic measures – such as the farewell to fossils – while developing countries – such as India and South Africa – can adopt less ambitious strategies to avoid too abrupt transitions and costs high social. In practice, differentiated paths to reduce emissions are an interaction of “common but differentiated responsibilities”, the so-called CBDR principle (common but differentiated responsibilities) both the Paris agreement itself and the foundations of contemporary climate diplomacy (it was also an integral part of the Earth summit in Rio in 1992).
