There were few forums across the year that allowed unknown environment ministers of different nations to meet each other. And then someone worked out a brilliant concept of global warming meets! by anchal gupta
It’s extremely tough to understand the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15, if you please). But if you really wish to understand the COP 15 summit, you would have to first understand that it’s already an open secret that there is going to be no deal. To understand what does one mean by ‘the deal’, you would have to understand that post the Kyoto Protocal period (where developed nations allowed developing nations leeway in controlling their emissions), developed nations now wish developing nations to sign ‘the deal’ wherein all nations will undertake legally binding measures to control their future emissions. But before that you would have to understand that of the 192 nations attending the meet, key ones – including India – have already rejected the concept of ‘legally binding’ emission controls. And also that many have already formulated their internally acceptable voluntarily implemented emission control standards. And further that these countries have already communicated their stands to the other nation members through various channels and some, like India, have also clearly mentioned why they will not sign at all on a deal that is ‘legally binding’. That brings us to another question – why then have the summit? Steal a glance to the first line of this paragraph, and you will have the answer of how tough it is to understand...
One tends to believe extremely strongly that irrespective of whether global warming is really at work or not, the fact is that the climate and environment ministers of various nations – post the creation of the masterstroke called United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the latest fashionable name for the almost extinct Kyoto Protocol – or was it vice versa? Don’t bother if you don’t know) – now have a fashionably important portfolio and an all expenses paid tour schedule that they can look forward to throughout their tenure.
Imagine this scenario. Around fifteen years back, if you had been an environment minister in a developing nation in South Asia, you would mainly have had to worry about policies regarding cattle, livestock, forests (of course), and other nick nack. Cut to the present, and the environment minister’s post is perchance the most coveted one dealing with the ad nauseum claim of how to “mitigate the effects of global warming” (you’ll find this statement copied in many policy government documents in many nations) leading obviously to massive media exposure, public glory, global speech making and a sureshot future book.
It’s extremely tough to understand the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15, if you please). But if you really wish to understand the COP 15 summit, you would have to first understand that it’s already an open secret that there is going to be no deal. To understand what does one mean by ‘the deal’, you would have to understand that post the Kyoto Protocal period (where developed nations allowed developing nations leeway in controlling their emissions), developed nations now wish developing nations to sign ‘the deal’ wherein all nations will undertake legally binding measures to control their future emissions. But before that you would have to understand that of the 192 nations attending the meet, key ones – including India – have already rejected the concept of ‘legally binding’ emission controls. And also that many have already formulated their internally acceptable voluntarily implemented emission control standards. And further that these countries have already communicated their stands to the other nation members through various channels and some, like India, have also clearly mentioned why they will not sign at all on a deal that is ‘legally binding’. That brings us to another question – why then have the summit? Steal a glance to the first line of this paragraph, and you will have the answer of how tough it is to understand...
One tends to believe extremely strongly that irrespective of whether global warming is really at work or not, the fact is that the climate and environment ministers of various nations – post the creation of the masterstroke called United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the latest fashionable name for the almost extinct Kyoto Protocol – or was it vice versa? Don’t bother if you don’t know) – now have a fashionably important portfolio and an all expenses paid tour schedule that they can look forward to throughout their tenure.
Imagine this scenario. Around fifteen years back, if you had been an environment minister in a developing nation in South Asia, you would mainly have had to worry about policies regarding cattle, livestock, forests (of course), and other nick nack. Cut to the present, and the environment minister’s post is perchance the most coveted one dealing with the ad nauseum claim of how to “mitigate the effects of global warming” (you’ll find this statement copied in many policy government documents in many nations) leading obviously to massive media exposure, public glory, global speech making and a sureshot future book.
No comments:
Post a Comment