At UNGA, incomplete climate justice

Transition to green energy systems must take into account the need for economic and social development in countries outside the developed world.

In July last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that countries are “obliged” to “prevent harm from climate change”. The verdict has now received the imprimatur of the UN General Assembly. More than two-thirds of UN members, 141, voted in favour of the resolution on Wednesday; eight nations, including the US, said no and 28, including India, abstained. The resolution could change the tenor of the international climate debate — it strengthens the idea that mitigation measures cannot be founded on the principle of voluntarism. It gives vulnerable nations, particularly small island states — among the sponsors of the move — stronger diplomatic and legal grounds to demand action from major emitters.

That said, the resolution does not fully reflect the concerns of developing countries like India, which have always argued that countries with a longer history of industrialisation, accompanied by extractive colonialism, bear greater responsibility for addressing the climate crisis. Transition to green energy systems must take into account the need for economic and social development in countries outside the developed world. The resolution does not adequately recognise this imperative, especially since it is silent on climate finance. Opening the global-warming mitigation plans of countries to legal scrutiny without similar audits of the financial commitments of industrialised countries further undermines one of the already-embattled principles of climate negotiations — common but differentiated responsibilities.

India’s abstention should, however, not be seen as a vote against the concerns of the small island states. New Delhi’s initiatives such as SAGAR, and projects like the International Solar Alliance, have been sensitive to the anxieties of the countries most threatened by the rising seas. India has also made appreciable progress towards the attainment of its Paris Pact commitments. At the same time, it must remain alert to the growing sentiment among the most climate-vulnerable countries that emerging economies need to do more to reduce their fossil-fuel dependence —debates at the UNFCCC and now the passing of the UN General Assembly resolution show that this stance has the support of several countries in the West. Even as India pushes its justified position in international climate fora, it must stay the course on its green-transition targets. Doing so will be in the interests of the well-being of its people and the competitiveness of its industry.