04 Nov 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENT

1. Climate Change Migration

Syllabus: International Environment Agencies & Agreements 

Mains: Policies to combat Climate Change

Context: Vanuatu backs fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty at UN General Assembly.

Introduction:

• Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation, has called on countries at the UN General Assembly to sign up for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, ending all new coal, oil and gas projects and phasing out existing ones. 
• It is the first country to call for such a treaty. The Vatican, the UN Secretary-General and the World Health Organization have all backed ending fossil fuel production worldwide. 
• A similar call on coal use was made at the COP26, Glasgow. 
  • The language of the decision at Glasgow was toned down from ‘phaseout’ to ‘phase down’ of unabated coal power and inefficient fuel subsidies after a strong protest by several countries, especially India who argued that the phaseout was unfair to countries that were heavily dependent on coal power in the medium term. 
• Vanuatu also urged global leaders to support its campaign to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on countries’ legal obligations to protect people from climate harm.
  • Comprising more than 80 islands stretching across 1,300km, Vanuatu is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and intense cyclones. 
• Palau and the Marshall Islands previously tried to request a similar advisory opinion from the ICJ in 2012, but failed to secure a majority. 

Treaty v/s Convention:

• The call to end fossil fuels through a mandate in the UN has very different implications than when it is presented under the UN Climate Change Convention. 
• A UN mandate of this nature is divorced from the legal responsibility of the developed countries to reduce their emissions on the basis of responsibility, capability and national circumstances, as required by the Climate Change Convention. 
• It also makes no provisions for technological and financial innovations that are necessary to ensure the transition. 
• A few months ago, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution that would have integrated climate‑related security risk as a central component of United Nations conflict‑prevention strategies aiming to help counter the risk of conflict relapse.
  • This was due to the opposition of most of the global south, which saw in this an attempt to address climate change not through international cooperation and consensus but by imposing the wish of a select few on others.

Significance of this plea:

• Vanuatu represents a strong and vocal group of small island developing states whose voice is heard with attention and empathy in the UN as the matter will affect the global discourse on climate change. 
• The small island group has gone around seeking endorsements from various quarters — governments, the corporate world and civil society. 
  • The Mayor of Kolkata, the capital of one of the largest coal-producing States in India, has lent his voice of support. 
• This call for a treaty has started discussions around the issue ahead of COP27 in Egypt.
• If a majority of countries at the UN general assembly give the ICJ a mandate to act, the court will be tasked with interpreting what international human rights and environmental laws mean for countries’ responsibility to act on the causes and impacts of climate change. 
  • The UN general assembly is one of the few bodies authorised to request advisory opinions from the ICJ, which settles legal disputes between countries. 
• This could inform climate lawsuits around the world and strengthen vulnerable countries’ calls for more support at international negotiations.

Road Ahead:

• The unsustainable levels of natural resource consumption and the extravagant lifestyles led by consumers in developed economies account for a sizable portion of the increase in global emissions.
  • The Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) movement recently initiated by India assumes importance in this context.
• There are other methods to lower world emissions besides coal phasedown. In many countries, including India, coal is the principal source of energy and the fundamental and integral part of their energy system.
  • Reducing coal-fired power may create several difficulties in securing the progress of developing economies towards key sustainable development goals. 
• The transition to a world of lower emissions has to be sustainable and equitable. 
  • The transition must ensure equal access to energy and secure energy supplies for all. 
• Building climate-resilient infrastructure in developing countries must be given high priority.
• More investment in energy innovations and alternative technologies is necessary along with phasing down the fossil fuel use in the energy mix.

Nut Graf: Recent call for fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty by Vanuatu assumes significance ahead of COP 27  in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. Ongoing energy stress in Europe due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis has dented countries’ ability to reduce emissions. Addressing the adverse impacts of climate change and preparing the vulnerable population for an uncertain future assumes priority.