UPSC Articles
IPCC report on Mitigation of Climate Change
Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-III: Environment, Conservation
Context: The IPCC’s Working Group III report, Climate Change 2022 discusses numerous strategies to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in different sectors and presents realistic calculations to stop global mean temperature increase by 1.5°C and 2°C. The report is the third instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year. The Report is a major contribution of IPCC to the global fight against climate change.
- Average annual global GHG emissions were at their highest levels in human history between 2010 and 2019. But the rate of growth of these emissions has slowed down.
- Since 2010, there have been sustained decreases of up to 85 per cent in the costs of solar and wind energy and batteries. This, along with an increasing range of policies and laws, has enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated the use of renewable energy.
Key Highlights
- IPCC report on Mitigation of Climate Change scientifically establishes India’s position on the historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget
- Report underlines the need for deep and urgent global emissions reduction and justifies India’s emphasis on equity at all scales in climate action and sustainable development. Equity remains a central element in the UN climate regime, notwithstanding shifts in differentiation between states over time and challenges in assessing fair shares. Equity is essential for
- The social and economic transformation required for climate mitigation,
- Manage the negative consequences of climate mitigation on vulnerable populations,
- Enable just transition towards low-emissions development,
- And ensure sustainable development.
- Report endorses India’s position on the need for scale, scope and speed in climate finance;
- Tracked financial flows fall short of the levels needed to achieve mitigation goals across all sectors and regions. The challenge of closing gaps is largest in developing countries as a whole.
- Public finance falls short of the Copenhagen (reiterated when the Paris Agreement was signed) goal of USD 100 billion per year by 2020.
- Accelerated financial support for developing countries from developed countries and other sources is a critical enabler to enhance mitigation action and address inequities in access to finance, including its costs, terms and conditions and economic vulnerability to climate change for developing countries.
- Four-fifths of the total carbon budget for 1.5 deg C temperature increase and two-thirds of the total carbon budget for 2 deg C warming has been already consumed
- Both cumulative and per capita annual emissions rose during the pre-2020 period. Pre-2020 emissions reduction in developed countries has been insufficient in comparison to the developing world’s needs for sustainable development.
- Both historical cumulative emissions and per capita annual emissions show that India’s role (as part of South Asia) is minimal.
- The Report endorses India’s view on the need for curbing unsustainable consumption.
- Changes in lifestyle and behaviours have a significant role to play in mitigating climate change.
- India was instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of “climate justice” and “sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production” in the preamble of the Paris Agreement.
- India believes that utilization of resources must be based on ‘Mindful and Deliberate Utilization’ and NOT ‘Mindless and Destructive Consumption’. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi gave a clarion call of L.I.F.E. – Lifestyles for Environment at COP26 at Glasgow.
Initiatives by India:
India has taken tremendous actions to address the threat of global climate change by taking several initiatives including, inter-alia,
- Setting up of International Solar Alliance
- Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
- ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’
- Infrastructure for Resilient Island States
- Raising the domestic renewable energy target to 500 GW by 2030
- Putting in place an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission
- …and continuing efforts to decouple its emissions from economic growth.
What is Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?
- It is an international body set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with
- Regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change
- Impacts and future risks associated with Climate Change
- Options for adaptation and mitigation for Climate Change
- Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and the UNEP.
- IPCC assessments provide a scientific basis for governments at all levels to develop climate-related policies and also underlie climate negotiation at International level.
- The main objective of UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
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News Source: PIB
