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French Revolution:-

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  • It gave birth to ideas of liberty, freedom and equality
  • It led to the end of monarchy in France
  • A society based on privileges gave way to a new system of governance
  • The Declarations of the Rights of Man during the revolution, announced the coming of a new time.
  • The idea that all individuals had rights and could claim equality became part of a new language of politics.
  • These notions of equality and freedom emerged as the central ideas of a new age; but in different countries they were reinterpreted and rethought in many different ways

Ideals of Revolution

  • The collapse of the old regime was the consequence of many factors – economic problems, social unrest, conflicting ambitions of groups and individuals.
  • In the unfolding of the Revolution, what was thought, what was said, and what was advocated, was expressed in terms categories that came from political theorists of the Enlightenment such as Montesquieu, Locke and Rousseau.
  • Montesquieu, the most important political philosopher of the French revolution claimed that a liberal constitutional monarchy was the best system of government for a people who prized freedom, on the grounds that by dividing the sovereignty of the nation between several centres of power, it provided a permanent check on any one of t hem becoming despotic.
  • Mirabeau, the leading orator among the revolutionists of this early phase, was very much the disciple of Montesquieu in his demand for a constitutional monarchy. Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privilege. He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
  • Then, there was Locke’s theory of the natural rights of man to life, liberty and property. The French revolutionists were influenced by Locke’s theory as  merican revolutionist had done so in 1776
  • Where Montesquieu had understood freedom as being unconstrained and unimpeded in doing what one chooses to do so as long as it is lawful, Rousseau defined freedom as ruling oneself, living only under a law which one has oneself enacted.
  • On Rousseau’s philosophy of freedom “The Social Contract” there was no question of the people dividing and diminishing  sovereignty, because the people were to keep sovereignty in their own hands. In Rousseau’s conception of a constitution, the nation became sovereign over itself.

Stages:-

  • 1774: Louis XVI becomes king of France, faces empty treasury and growing discontent within society of the Old Regime.
  • 1789: Convocation of Estates General, Third Estate forms National Assembly, the Bastille is stormed, and peasant revolts in the countryside.
  • 1791: A constitution is framed to limit the powers of the king and to guarantee basic rights to all human beings.
  • 1792: Overthrow of the Constitutional Monarch—oftencalledthe“SecondRevolution”—and the establishment of the First French Republic.
  • After the establishment of the Republic, the level of violence grew as the Republican regime sought to repress counter – revolutionary movements in France (Federalist revolts and the Vendee uprising) while struggling at the same time to prevent defeat in war by the combined forces of Austria, Prussia, and Britain.
  • The so-called reign of Terror was instituted to quash both internal and foreign forces of counter revolution. But once these internal and foreign threats were under control in the spring of 1794, Terror continued at the direction of the Committee of  Public Safety, the most famous member of which was Maximiliean Robespierre.
  • This last period of Terror was aimed at eliminating political rivals of Robespierre and the Committee, which included Danton. The excesses that resulted led to the overthrow of Robespierre and the Committee.
  • After the overthrow of Robespierre, the revolution continued still longer as the moderate leaders of the newly established government called the Directory (1795-1799) attempted to bring the revolution to a close in keeping with the principles of 1789 that would be under bourgeois control and freed from the intervention and pressures of the popular movement.
  • This effort entailed the forceful repression of the popular movement in Paris by Napoleon’s so-called “whiff of grapeshot” ,the overturning of elections in 1797 (to oust neo-Jacobins seen as too radical) and again in 1798 (to oust ultra conservatives).
  • The Directory relied on the army and military force to carry out these repressive acts at the same time it supported the army and Napoleon in an aggressive war of expansion in Europe and Egypt.
  • Having relied on the army so much, the Directory was in the end overthrown by Napoleon and military might.

Role of leaders, philosopher

  • In the unfolding of the Revolution, what was thought, what was said, and what was advocated, was expressed in terms and categories that came from political theorists of the Enlightenment such as Montesquieu, Locke and Rousseau.
  • Montesquieu, the most important political philosopher of the French revolution claimed that a liberal constitutional monarchy was the best system of government for a people who prized freedom, on the grounds that by dividing the sovereignty of the nation between several centres of power, it provided a permanent check on any one of them becoming despotic.
  • Montesquieu suggested that the English had achieved this by sharing sovereignty between the Crown, Parliament and the law courts.
  • The French, he suggested, would need, if they were to adopt the same idea, to make use of the estates with which they were themselves already familiar: the Crown, the aristocratic courts, the Church, the landed nobility and the chartered cities.
  • Mirabeau, the leading orator among the revolutionists of this early phase, was very much the disciple of Montesquieu in his demand for a constitutional monarchy. Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privilege. He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
  • Then, there was Locke’s theory of the natural rights of man to life, liberty and property. The French revolutionists were influenced by Locke’s theory as merican revolutionist had done so in 1776.
  • Where Montesquieu had understood freedom as being unconstrained and unimpeded in doing what one chooses to do so as long as it is lawful, Rousseau defined freedom as ruling oneself, living only under a law which one has oneself enacted.
  • On Rousseau’s philosophy of freedom “The Social Contract” there was no question of the people dividing and diminishing  sovereignty, because the people were to keep sovereignty in their own hands. In Rousseau’s conception of a constitution, the nation became sovereign over itself.  

Limitations

It would be unfair to Rousseau to say that Robespierre put the theory of The Social Contract into practice, but he used Rousseau’s language, and exploited – while distorting –  several of Rousseau’s ideas in the course of his reign of terror.

 

American War of Independence.

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Philosophes such as Voltaire considered England’s government the most progressive in Europe. England’s ruler was no despot, not even an enlightened one. His power had been limited by law. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 had given England a constitutional monarchy. However, while the English monarch’s power was being limited at home, the power of the English nation was spreading overseas.

Britain and Its American Colonies

When George III became king of Great Britain in 1760, his Atlantic coastal colonies were growing by leaps and bounds. The colonies thrived on trade with the nations of Europe. Along with increasing population and prosperity, a new sense of identity was growing in the colonists’ minds. Colonists saw themselves less as British and more as Virginians or Pennsylvanians. However, they were still British subjects and were expected to obey British law.

In the 1660s, Parliament had passed trade laws called the Navigation Acts. These laws prevented colonists from selling their most valuable products to any country except Britain. In addition, colonists had to pay high taxes on imported French and Dutch goods. However, colonists found ways to get around these laws. Some merchants smuggled in goods to avoid paying British taxes. Smugglers could sneak in and out of the many small harbours all along the lengthy Atlantic coastline. British customs agents found it difficult to enforce the Navigation Acts. For many years, Britain felt no need to tighten its hold on the colonies. Despite the smuggling, Britain’s mercantilist policies had made colonial trade very profitable. Britain bought American raw materials for low prices and sold manufactured goods to the colonists. And despite British trade restrictions, colonial merchants also thrived. However, after the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Britain toughened its trade laws. These changes sparked growing anger in the colonies.

Americans Win Independence

In 1760, when George III took the throne, most Americans had no thoughts of either revolution or independence. Yet by 1776, many Americans were willing to risk their lives to break free of Britain. During the French and Indian War, Great Britain had run up a huge debt in the war against France. Because American colonists benefited from Britain’s victory, Britain expected the colonists to help pay the costs of the war. In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act. Colonists had to pay a tax to have an official stamp put on wills, deeds, newspapers, and other printed material. American colonists were outraged. They had never paid taxes directly to the British government before. Colonial lawyers argued that the stamp tax violated colonists’ natural rights.

In Britain, citizens consented to taxes through their representatives in Parliament. Because the colonists had no such representatives, Parliament could not tax them. The colonists demonstrated their defiance of this tax with angry protests and a boycott of British manufactured goods. The boycott proved so effective that Parliament gave up and repealed the Stamp Act in 1766.

Growing Hostility Leads to War

Some colonial leaders, such as Boston’s Samuel Adams, favoured independence from Britain. They encouraged conflict with British authorities. At the same time, George III and his ministers made enemies of many moderate colonists by their harsh stands. In 1773, to protest an import tax on tea, Adams organized a raid against three British ships in Boston Harbour. The raiders dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. George III, infuriated by the “Boston Tea Party,” as it was called, ordered the British navy to close the port of Boston. British troops occupied the city. In September 1774, representatives from every colony except Georgia gathered in Philadelphia to form the First Continental Congress. This group protested the treatment of Boston. When the king paid little attention to their complaints, all 13 colonies decided to form the Second Continental Congress to debate their next move. On April 19, 1775, British soldiers and American militiamen exchanged gunfire on the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts. The fighting spread to nearby Concord. When news of the fighting reached the Second Continental Congress, its members voted to raise an army under the command of a Virginian named George Washington. The American Revolution had begun.

Enlightenment Ideas Influence American Colonists

Although a war had begun, the American colonists still debated their attachment to Great Britain. Many colonists wanted to remain part of Britain. A growing number, however, favoured independence. They heard the persuasive arguments of colonial leaders such as Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. These leaders used Enlightenment ideas to justify independence. The colonists had asked for the same political rights as people in Britain, they said, but the king had stubbornly refused. Therefore, the colonists were justified in rebelling against a tyrant who had broken the social contract. In July 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. This document, written by Thomas Jefferson, was firmly based on the ideas of John Locke and the Enlightenment. The Declaration reflected these ideas in its eloquent argument for natural rights. Since Locke had asserted that people had the right to rebel against an unjust ruler, the Declaration of Independence included a long list of George III’s abuses. The document ended by breaking the ties between the colonies and Britain. The colonies, the Declaration said, “are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown.”

Success for the Colonists

When war was first declared, the odds seemed heavily weighted against the Americans. Washington’s ragtag, poorly trained army faced the well-trained forces of the most powerful country in the world. In the end, however, the Americans won their war for independence.  Several reasons explain their success. First, the Americans’ motivation for fighting was much stronger than that of the British, since their army was defending their homeland. Second, the overconfident British generals made several mistakes. Third, time itself was on the side of the Americans. The British could win battle after battle, as they did, and still lose the war. Fighting an overseas war, 3,000 miles from London, was terribly expensive. After a few years, tax-weary British citizens clamoured for peace. Finally, the Americans did not fight alone. Louis XVI of France had little sympathy for the ideals of the American Revolution, but he was eager to weaken France’s rival, Britain. French entry into the war in 1778 was decisive. In 1781, combined forces of about 9,500 Americans and 7,800 French trapped a British army commanded by Lord Cornwallis near Yorktown, Virginia. Unable to escape, Cornwallis surrendered. The Americans were victorious.

Americans Create a Republic

Shortly after declaring their independence, the 13 individual states recognized the need for a national government. As victory became certain, in 1781 all 13 states ratified a constitution. This plan of government was known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles established the United States as a republic—a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives. To protect their authority, the 13 states created a loose confederation in which they held most of the power. Thus, the Articles of Confederation deliberately created a weak national government. There were no executive or judicial branches. Instead, the Articles established only one body of government, the Congress. Each state, regardless of size, had one vote in Congress. Congress could declare war, enter into treaties, and coin money. It had no power, however, to collect taxes or regulate trade. Passing new laws was difficult because laws needed the approval of 9 of the 13 states. These limits on the national government soon produced many problems. Although the new national government needed money in order to operate, it could only request contributions from the states. Angry Revolutionary War veterans bitterly complained that Congress still owed them back pay.

The nation’s growing financial problems sparked a violent protest in Massachusetts. Debt-ridden farmers, led by a war veteran named Daniel Shays, demanded that the state lower taxes and issue paper money so that they could repay their debts. When the state refused, the rebels attacked several courthouses. Massachusetts authorities quickly crushed Shays’s Rebellion.

A New Constitution

Concerned leaders such as George Washington and James Madison believed that Shays’s Rebellion underscored the need for a strong national government. In February 1787, Congress approved a Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention held its first session on May 25, 1787. The 55 delegates were experienced statesmen who were familiar with the political theories of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Although the delegates shared basic ideas on government, they sometimes disagreed on how to put them into practice.  Using the political ideas of the Enlightenment, the delegates created a new system of government.

The Federal System

Like Montesquieu, the delegates distrusted a powerful central government controlled by one person or group. They therefore established three separate branches—legislative, executive, and judicial. This provided a built-in system of checks and balances, with each branch checking the actions of the other two. For example, the president received the power to veto legislation passed by Congress. However, the Congress could override a presidential veto with the approval of two-thirds of its members. Although the Constitution created a strong central government, it did not eliminate local governments. Instead, the Constitution set up a federal system in which power was divided between national and state governments. The delegates agreed with Locke and Rousseau that governments draw their authority from the consent of the governed.

The Bill of Rights

The delegates signed the new Constitution on September 17, 1787. In order to become law, however, the Constitution required approval by conventions in at least 9 of the 13 states. These conventions were marked by sharp debate. Supporters of the Constitution, called the Federalists, argued that the new government would provide a better balance between national and state powers. Their opponents, the Antifederalists, feared that the Constitution gave the central government too much power. They also wanted a bill of rights to protect the rights of individual citizens. In order to gain support, the Federalists promised to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. This promise cleared the way for approval. Congress formally added to the Constitution the ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments protected such basic rights as freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion. Many of these rights had been advocated by Voltaire, Rousseau, and Locke. The Constitution and Bill of Rights marked a turning point in people’s ideas about government. Both documents put Enlightenment ideas into practice. They expressed an optimistic view that reason and reform could prevail and that progress was inevitable. Such optimism swept across the Atlantic. However, the monarchies and the privileged classes didn’t give up power and position easily. As Chapter 23 explains, the struggle to attain the principles of the Enlightenment continued in France.

 

Coastal Regulation Zone

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 Act of 1991

  • To regulate development activity on India’s coastline
  • The approach adopted by the first notification was to define the ‘High Tide Line’ and ‘Coastal Regulation Zone’ and thereafter specify the activities permitted and restricted in the vicinity of the CRZ
  • This regulated zone was further divided into four categories (CRZ 1-4) as per permitted land use
  • There have been about 25 amendments in this notification between 1991 and 2009
  • Rules re-issued in 2011
    • The difference between 1991 and 2011 rule is that the ‘no development zone’ has been reduced from 200 m from the high-tide line (HTL) to 100 m only to meet the increased demands of housing of fishing and other traditional coastal communities.
    • CRZ has been expanded to include territorial waters as protected zone
    • The concept of ‘hazard line’ has been introduced
    • Concept of classification of CRZ into four zones has been continued
  • CRZ I- ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves, coral reefs, salt marshes, turtle nesting ground and the inter-tidal zone.
  • CRZ II- areas close to the shoreline, and which have been developed.
  • CRZ III- Coastal areas that are not substantially built up, including rural coastal areas.
  • CRZ IV- water area from LTL to the limit of territorial waters of India
    • A new category called areas requiring special consideration has been created which includes
      • CRZ areas of Greater Mumbai, Kerala and Goa
      • Critically vulnerable coastal areas such as Sunderbans
    • The list of exceptions to the rule prohibiting setting up of new industries and expansion of existing industries has been expanded

 

Wetland Conservation Programme, Ramsar Convention and The Montreux Record.

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Wetland Conservation Programme

  • Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic system where the water table is usually near the water surface and land is covered by shallow water.
  • Essential as: control floods, water treatment, recharging of water sources, reduce sediments, check soil erosion, bulwark against encroachment by the sea, winter resort for birds and important for flora and fauna. They also provide a variety of resources
  • Ramsar Convention: mangroves, corals, estuaries, bays, creeks, flood plains, sea grasses, lakes etc included
  • A programme on conservation of wetlands was initiated in 1987 with the basic objective of identification of wetlands of national importance, assessment of wetland resources, promotion of R&D activities and formulation and implementation of management action plans
  • A steering committee in each state headed by the Chief Secretary consists of members from all departments related to the wetland conservation in the state. Successful model.
  • India is a member of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 1971
  • Steps forward
    • Make use of the traditional knowledge of the people living near the wetlands for its conservation along with the engineering solutions
    • Monitor the impact of implementation of management action plans
  • Wetlands of India under Ramsar Convention
Name State Remark
1.       Ashtamudi WL Kerala
2.       Bhitarkanika Mangroves Orissa
3.       Bhoj WL MP
4.       Chilka Lake Orissa 2nd largest in India: 116500 ha
5.       Deepor Beel Assam
6.       East Calcutta WL WB
7.       Harike Lake Punjab
8.       Kanjli Punjab
9.       Keoladeo National Park Rajasthan
10.   Kolleru Lake AP
11.   Loktak Lake Manipur
12.   Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary TN
13.   Pong Dam Lake HP
14.   Ropar Punjab
15.   Sambhar Lake Rajasthan
16.   Sasthamkotta Lake Kerala
17.   Tsomoriri J&K
18.   Vembanad-Kol WL Kerala Largest in India: 151250 ha
19.   Wular Lake J&K
20.   Chandratal HP 2nd Smallest: 49 ha
21.   Renuka HP Smallest: 20 ha
22.   Rudrasagar Tripura
23.   Upper Ganga UP Total area of these 26 wetlands: 677131 ha
24.   Hokarsar (Hokera) J&K Kerala has the highest area under wetlands
25.   Surinsar & Mansar J&K J&K has the largest number of wetlands (4)
26.   Gharana (2010) J&K

 

 

The Montreux Record. Sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance which are considered to have undergone, to be undergoing, or to be likely to undergo change in their ecological character brought about by human action may be placed on the Montreux Record and may benefit from the application of the Ramsar Advisory Mission and other forms of technical assistance.

  • Keoladeo national park and Loktak lake from India are included in the list

Changwon Declaration

The primary purpose of the  “Changwon Declaration on human well-being and wetlands”,adopted by Resolution X.3 of the recent meeting of the Conference of the Parties, “is to transmit key messages concerning wetland-related issues to the many stakeholders and decision-makers beyond the Ramsar community who are relevant to the conservation and wise use of wetlands, to inform their actions and decision-making”

 

Sustainable Development

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  • Bruntland Report (1983) was the first publication and recognition of the term ‘Sustainable Development’
    • “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of the future generation”
  • Three pillars of sustainable development (Bruntland)
    • Care and respect for People, Planet and Prosperity (Commercial Activities) <hence poverty alleviation, conservation and business development>
    • These three pillars are of equal importance
  • SD is about a value system. It is not a scientific formula.
  • Thinking beyond pure self-gratification to awareness that harm to one will eventually be harm to all.
  • Interconnectedness and interdependence of all things
  • All three pillars have equal importance. Focus on only one of them will unbalance the whole
  • SD is a necessity, not a luxury that we can afford to miss.

Questioning Development <too detailed; at times peripheral. Be choosy>

  • Current practices must change
  • Should shatter the ‘development’ myth. Simply economic growth will not create more jobs and more wealth for all.
  • Steady-state economics. Economic growth is measured in terms of how much we produce and consume, and what we destroy in the process need not be included in the calculations.
  • 20% of the world consumes 80% of its resources
  • According to UNDP, consumption of goods and services in 1997 was twice that in 1975 and six times more than in 1950.
  • An estimated 1 billion people still do not have the means to meet their basic needs.
  • Inequalities are increasing. The assets of world’s three richest men are greater than the combined national product of 48 poorest countries.
  • Higher crime rates are associated with wider income gaps
  • Jobless growth.
  • Under-nutrition is still a huge problem among children

Economic Growth and Sustainability

  • Over-consumption has led to depletion of resources
  • Main environmental threats
    • Depletion of resources
    • Global warming
    • Expansion of waste arising from production and consumption
    • Population pressure
    • Pollution
    • Loss of biodiversity and extinction of species.
  • Green National Income Account
    • Conventional national income accounting does not capture the environmental degradation due to production and consumption
    • This omission leads to misrepresentation of improvements in social welfare
    • Since there is no market for many environmental resources, it is difficult to place monetary values on them
    • Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare: adjusts the national income to make an allowance for defensive spending (i.e. that incurred in cleaning up for pollution and other forms of environmental damage)
  • Economic Sustainability
    • Calls for reforms in the manner that we conduct our economic activity
    • Removing unfair trade barriers and subsidies that harm the environment
    • Upholding the polluter pays principle
    • Tax not on labour but on consumption <already there in the form of indirect taxes>
    • Pricing products in terms of value they have deducted from the common natural base
    • Increase resource productivity
  • Sustainable agriculture
    • Use of practices and methods to maintain/enhance the economic viability of agricultural production, natural resource base, and other ecosystems which are influenced by agricultural activities
    • Minimizing the adverse impact on the natural resources base
    • Flexible farming systems to manage the risks associated with climate and markets

Ecological Sustainability

  • Sustainable forest management
    • ‘Forest Principle’ adopted at the 1992 Rio Summit
    • In 2007, GA adopted the Non Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. The instrument is the first of its kind and is committed to promote SFM by bringing all stakeholders together
    • Ministerial Conference on Protection of Forests in Europe defined SFM as the attainment of balance between society’s increasing demands for forest products and benefits, and the preservation of forest health and diversity.
    • Forest managers must assess and integrate a wide array of sometimes conflicting factors to produce sound forest plans
    • Ecosystems approach has been adopted by the CBD. The CBD definition of Ecosystems Approach is known as the Malawi Principles.
    • Ecosystems Approach is a strategy of management of land, water and living resources in a way that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. Focused on use of scientific methodologies for each level of biological organisation and their interaction.
    • SFM was recognised by the parties to CBD in 2004 to be a concrete means of applying the Ecosystems Approach to forest ecosystems
  • Objectives of SFM
    • Maintain environmental stability through preservation of ecological balance that has been adversely affected due to the depletion of forest cover
    • Preserve the natural heritage of the country
    • Improve productivity of forests
    • Protecting through cooperation with local communities on the principle of Joint Forest Management
  • India
    • One of the 12 mega biodiversity countries of the world
    • National Forest Policy 1988 emphasizes environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance
    • Existing infrastructure for forest protection is inadequate
    • Surveys not carried out in many areas. Question of tribal rights
    • Protect from forest fires
  • Integrated Forest Protection Scheme
    • 10th FYP. In all States and UTs
    • Formed by merger of two 9th FYP schemes: ‘Forest Fire Control and Management’ and ‘Bridging of Infrastructure Gaps in the Forestry Sector in the North Eastern Region and Sikkim’
    • Components
      • Infrastructure development: survey and demarcation, strengthening the infrastructure for Forest Protection Division
      • Forest fire control and management
    • Implementing agencies
      • Central Component: Forest Protection Division, MoEF; Forest Survey of India, Dehradun; Central institutions like Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (Dehradun), IIFM (Bhopal) etc shall be involved
      • State Component: Forest dept of the concerned state/UT

Social Sustainability

  • Fairness in the access to and benefits from the Earth’s resources
  • Impact of poverty on environment/Environment and poverty are related issues
  • Diverting resources to non-productive areas
  • Health and SD
    • Environment and public health are inter-related
  • Agenda 21 was adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) [Earth Summit] in 1992
    • It also places particular emphasis on the need to take health considerations into account in planning for SD
  • Urbanisation
  • Need for holistic approach

Water and SD

  • Agriculture consumes nearly 70 pc of water consumption worldwide, industry -22 pc and household activities – 8 pc [WDR, 2010]
  • Geographical distribution of water: just nine countries account for 60 pc of all available freshwater supplies
  • Industrial use takes about 60 pc of water in rich countries and 10 pc in the rest.
  • Suggestions
    • Use of sea water
    • Judicial use of freshwater
    • Development of salt-resistant crops

SD in a globalising world

  • Globalisation is increasing the gap between the rich and the poor
  • It has to be steered so that it serves not only the commercial interests but social needs of development
  • Mechanisms to safeguard trade and livelihoods, especially in developing countries, must be evolved and negotiated to make globalisation an effective vehicle of SD
  • Industrialised countries must continue to assist the developing countries as well as promote trade
  • Environment and social causes must not be used selectively to erect trade barriers against developing countries

 

CoP15 (Copenhagen Summit)

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  • Main aim was to establish a global climate agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires
  • The conference did not achieve any binding agreement for long term action
  • A ‘political accord’ was negotiated by approximately 25 parties
    • Collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources , including forestry and investments through international institutions to a tune of $30 bn for the period 2010-12.
  • Copenhagen Accord
    • Not legally binding and does not commit countries to agree to a binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol
    • Annex 1 parties would commit to economy-wide emissions targets for 2020 to be submitted by 31 Jan 2010. Delivery of reductions and finance by developed countries will be measured , reported and verified (MRV) in accordance with COP guidelines
    • Non-annex 1 countries would implement Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions to slow their carbon emissions
    • Commits $30 bn for 2010-12
    • Copenhagen Green Climate Fund
    • The accord shall be assessed in 2015

 

Kyoto Protocol

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The Kyoto Protocol has put in place three flexibility mechanisms to reduce emission of Green House Gases. Although the Protocol places maximum responsibility of reducing emissions on the developed countries by committing them to specific emission targets, the three mechanisms are based on the premise that reduction of emissions in any part of the globe will have the same desired effect on the atmosphere, and also that some developed countries might find it easier and more cost effective to support emissions reductions in other developed or developing countries rather than at home. These mechanisms thus provide flexibility to the Annexure I countries, helping them to meet their emission reduction obligations. Let us take a look at what these mechanisms are.

What are the three flexibility mechanisms put in place of the Kyoto Protocol for reducing GHG emission?

  • The three mechanisms are joint implementation. Emissions Trading and Clean Development

What is Joint Implementation?

  • Through the Joint Implementation, any Annex I country can invest in emission reduction projects (referred to as joint Implementation Project) in any other Annex I country as an alternative to reducing emissions domestically.
  • Two early examples are change from a wet to a dry process at a Ukraine cement works, reducing energy consumption by 53 percent by 2008-2012; and rehabilitation of a Bulgarian hydropower project, with a 267,000 ton reduction of C02 equivalent during 2008-2012.

What is Clean Development Mechanism?

  • The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows-‘l developed country with an emission reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement an emission reduction project in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. In exchange for the amount of reduction In emission thus achieved, the investing gets carbon credits which it can offset against its Kyoto targets. The developing country gains a Step towards sustainable development.
  • To get a CDM project registered and implemented, the investing country’ has to first take approval from the designated national authority in the host country, establish “Additionally”, define baselines and get the project validated by a third party agency, called a Designated Operational Entity (DOE). The Executive Body of CDM registers the project and issues credits, called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), or carbon credits, where each unit is equivalent to the reduction of one metric tonne of. C02 or its equivalent. There are more than 4200 CDM projects in the pipeline as on 14.3.2010. The expected CERs till the end of2012 is 2,900,000,000

What is “Additionality” in a CDM project ?

  • The feature of “additionality” is a crucial element of a CDM project it means that the industrialized country that is seeking to establish the CDM project in the developing country and earns carbon credits from it has to establish that the planned carbon reductions would not have occurred on its own, in the absence of the CDM project. They have to establish a baseline of the project. Which is the emission level that would have been there in the absence of the project. The difference between this baseline level and the (lower) emission level achieved as a result of the project is the carbon credit due to the investing country

What are some of the concerns regarding CDM ?

  • The risk of “false Credits” is a cause for concern with regard to CDM projects. If a project does not actually offer an additionally and the reduction in emission would have happened anyway Even without the project.

 

Inter-governmental action

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  • IPCC
  • UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), 1992
  • Agenda 21
    • An action plan of UN relating to sustainable development adopted at the Earth Summit, 1992
  • UNFCCC
  • Kyoto Protocol

IPCC

  • 1988 by World Meteorological Organisation and UNEP
  • tasked with reviewing and assessing the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change
  • Nobel Prize in 2007
  • The IPCC does not carry out its own original research, nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself.
  • A main activity of the IPCC is publishing special reports on topics relevant to the implementation of the (UNFCCC)
  • Till now, it has released four assessment reports (1990, 1995, 2001, 2007)
  • Fifth assessment report is due in 2014

UNFCCC

1992 at the Rio Summit.

194 members. Secretariat at Bonn.

Parties to UNFCCC are classified as:

  • Annex I countries – industrialized countries and economies in transition
  • Annex II countries – developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries
  • Developing countries.

 

Conference Place Outcome
1995 COP1 Berlin The Berlin Mandate
1996 COP2 Geneva
1997 COP3 Kyoto Kyoto Protocol
1998 COP4 Buenos Aires
1999 COP5 Bonn
2000 COP6 /2001 COP6 The Hague/Bonn CDM and Joint Implementation adopted at Bonn
2001 COP7 Marrakesh
2002 COP8 New Delhi Delhi Declaration: Calls for efforts by developed countries to transfer technology and minimize the impact of climate change on developing countries
2003 COP9 Milan
2004 COP10 Buenos Aires
2005 COP11/MOP1 Montreal
2006 COP12/MOP2 Nairobi
2007 COP13/MOP3 Bali Bali Action Plan
2008 COP14/MOP4 Poznan, Poland
2009 COP15/MOP5 Copenhagen
2010 COP16/MOP6 Cancun
2011 COP17/MOP7 Durban, South Africa

 

Tarawa Climate Change Conference

  • In the lead up to COP16, the leaders of the world’s most climate-change vulnerable countries met in Kiribati in November 2010
  • Ambo Declaration was adopted
    • It calls for more and immediate action to be undertaken to address the causes and adverse impacts of climate change.

CoP-16/CMP-6, Cancun

COP-16 President: Patricia Espinosa, Mexico’s foreign secretary

COP-17 will be held in Durban

Issues

  • Forestry issues and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) plus
  • The developed countries are pushing for transparency from countries where they will fund climate change mitigation.
    • The assessment of carbon emission mitigation for developing countries is right now through domestic communication but is subject to international consultation and analysis. This push for transparency is a major contentious issue.
  • Fast-track finance: $ 30 bn had been committed at CoP-15. A large part of this funding is yet to come through.

 

Goals

Agreements Reached

  • The outcome of the summit was an agreement, not a binding treaty, which calls on rich countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as pledged in the Copenhagen Accord, and for developing countries to plan to reduce their emissions, to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.
  • There should be no gap between the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in December 2012, and the second phase.
  • The agreement calls on the developed countries to “raise the level of ambition of the emission reductions to be achieved by them individually or jointly, with a view to reducing their aggregate level of emission of green house gases”
  • Allows flexibility in choosing the base year for setting emission reduction targets
  • Emissions trading and the project based mechanism under the KP shall continue to be available to Annex 1 parties as a means to meet their quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives.
  • The agreements recognize that in all climate change related action, human rights must be respected. They also recognise the need to engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including youth and persons with disability, and call for gender equality and effective participation of women and indigenous people in effective action on all aspects of climate change.
  • The BASIC group softened the three demands it had before the talks began
    • Necessity of a second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol
    • Need to accelerate disbursement under the fast start finance in the form of new and additional resources through a multilaterally supervised mechanism
    • Continued dialogue on IPRs as part of the technology development and transfer issues.
  • REDD is a part of the package and proposed mitigation actions include conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests.
    • REDD is a set of steps designed to use market/financial incentives in order to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation. Its original objective is to reduce GHGs but it can deliver ‘co-benefits’ such as biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation
    • REDD+ calls for activities with serious implication directed towards the local communities, indigenous people and forests which relate to reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation. It goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks
  • A Cancun Adaptation Framework has been proposed to strengthen and address implementation of action, and various kinds of assessments, apart from R&D and host of other issues.
  • Green Climate Fund The fund will be designed by a transitional committee, with 15 members from the developed countries and 25 from the developing nations.
  • Pledge by the developed countries to provide $100 bn annually till 2020.

 

Conclusion

  • UNFCCC secretary-general Christian Figueres emphasised that the main achievement of the Cancun meet has been to restore some degree of faith in the multilateral process.
  • The agreements don’t mention any reduction targets.
  • Though the agreements recognize the need to reduce the GHG emissions and curb the increase in global average temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, in the absence of any firm target, this could be an inadequate and vague provision
  • Bolivia has rejected the agreement, saying that it won’t support agreement without binding emission cuts.
  • In a sense, the summit was both a major step forward as well as a failure
  • It was a step forward because in recent years climate change negotiations had stumbled and this meeting helped overcome that
  • It was a failure because it failed to reach an agreement for binding restrictions that are required to avert global warming.
  • There was no agreement on how to extend the Kyoto Protocol, or how the $100 billion a year for the Green Climate Fund will be raised or whether developing countries should have binding emissions reductions.

Under the Cancun Agreements, the targets set by industrialised countries for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are recognised as part of the multilateral process. They must now draw up low-carbon development plans and strategies and also report their inventories annually. In the case of developing countries, actions for emissions reduction will be recognised officially; a registry will record and match their mitigation actions to finance and technology support from rich countries; and they will report their progress every two years. These form a good preamble for target-setting for all member-countries under an agreed framework at Durban next year.

Trivia

  • A large amount of energy used during the conference came from renewable sources
  • Around 10000 trees and bushes will be planted in Cancun

Role of India and its relevance

  • India can act as a mediator between the developing and developed countries
  • India’s approach to climate change negotiations has been governed by three factors – how to protect the country’s economic interest and environment agenda, to use climate change as a tool of global diplomacy and consolidate its position on world forums.
  • At Cancun, India was responsible for having made five insertions into the Agreement
    • In the section on shared vision, the figure of 50 pc has been dropped from identifying a global goal for substantially reducing emissions by 2050
    • The phrase access to sustainable development has been introduced in the context of working towards identifying a time-frame for global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions based on the best available scientific knowledge
    • International Consultation and Analysis (ICA) finds mention the agreements. It proposes to enhance the reporting for the non-Annex 1 parties or developing countries on mitigation  action and its effects and support received
  • At Cancun, India also proposed legally binding emission cuts.

 

 

Climate Change Mitigation

by

  • Alternative Energy sources
    • Renewable energy
    • Nuclear Power
    • Reduce the carbon intensity of fossil fuels
  • Energy efficiency and conservation
    • Transport and urban planning
    • Building design
    • Reforestation and avoid deforestation
    • Eliminating waste methane
  • Geoengineering
    • Greenhouse gas remediation
      • Biomass
      • Carbon air capture
      • Carbon capture and storage
    • Societal control
      • Population
      • Sustainable life-style

Global Warming

by

  • An increase in the average temperature of Earth’s near surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century
  • 4th assessment report of IPCC: global temperature increased 74+0.18 degree C during the 20th century.
  • Caused by greenhouse gases
    • Water vapour, Co2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone, CFCs (in order of abundance)
  • Since the industrial revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has increased the levels of Co2 in the atmosphere from 280 ppm to 390 ppm.

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