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Managing climate change

This week is Commonwealth week and its theme is Climate Change. There is no other issue which will affect all the 53 countries of the Commonwealth (large, small; rich, poor; north, south) so profoundly.

This issue is often portrayed as a battle between the developed and the developing worlds; between countries like Britain and India. Wrong. It is something which affects us all and which we need to address together. The origins of climate change lie p rincipally in the developed economies. But, unjust though this may seem, its impact will be at least as great in the developing world. In India probably greater: the retreat of the glaciers; rising sea levels; new difficulties facing those farming in arid regions; a less predictable monsoon — on which the lives of so many Indians depend.

The question is not whether to act, but how. The Indian government is preparing a new Climate Change Strategy, due to be published this summer. Britain is already committed to reduce its CO{-2} emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 and the British Prime Minister has said he will ask for independent expert advice on whether this figure should be higher still — perhaps as high as 80 per cent. Assuming normal levels of growth, even the 60 per cent target would reduce the carbon content of a unit of our economic output to some 10 – 15 per cent of the 1990 figure — a fundamental change in how our whole economy works. We are clear that all developed countries, which together created the problem, and in particular the U.S., need to make similar commitments. No developed economy can have a free ride.

Britain is the first country to introduce a Climate Change Bill which will include legally binding limits on carbon emissions. It will involve five-year “carbon budgets” designed to help map out a clear path to the achievement of our targets. It will also give greater clarity to the private sector to inform their investment decisions. There is no prospect of success unless we harness the energy and innovation of private industry to help us all address this huge challenge.

However, this problem cannot be resolved by the developed world alone. Even if these countries reached zero emissions by 2030 (a wildly improbable target), the world’s overall level of CO{-2} would still be increasing due to GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions growth in developing countries, including India. We strongly support India’s goal of inclusive growth - indeed the U.K.’s largest development assistance programme anywhere is here in India. We also recognise India’s achievements in areas such as recycling and reducing the energy intensity of its growth. But it is critical that India, with its enormous population, finds a way to grow and prosper which does not damage the global climate — and hence the very prosperity it rightly aspires too. Economic development and sound environmental policies are not in conflict, they need to go hand in hand.

So we need a partnership — in particular in four areas:

Adaptation: It is clear that India (like others) will need to adjust its economic plans and targets to reflect the impact of climate change. We want to work with you to do this, including through financial and technical support. We have allocated $200 million over the three years from April to support India’s efforts in this area. The earlier this process really gets going the better.

Technology: We must use the creativity of scientists in Britain and India both to develop new ideas, such as carbon capture and storage, and to reduce the cost of existing low carbon technologies. We need to apply to the price of solar panels the ingenuity which Tata is using to create the 1 lakh car.

Energy Efficiency: We need clear market signals which give an incentive to the private sector to help us adjust our economy to increasingly low carbon output. At present the energy cost of economic activity varies hugely from country to country.

Reduction commitments: By the end of 2009, we need to commit collectively to a global target for CO{-2} emissions by 2050 — and decide how best to divide this up. The principal responsibility will clearly fall on the developed world. But we will not achieve our shared goal without accepting that, over time, developing economies also need to make their own (smaller) contribution. The Indian government accepts this point of principle and has committed to ensure that per capita emissions in India will never exceed those in developed countries.

This is an interesting and creative idea which deserves further work and discussion. We must see whether it can provide a viable framework to ensure we all do enough to meet the challenge of climate change.

These are critical areas for collaboration between the developed and developing countries. Involving the latter emphatically does not mean allowing developed countries to escape from their responsibility to undertake the main burden of adjustment. We believe India has a critical leadership role to play in taking this vital agenda forward.

(Sir Richard Stagg is a career diplomat and British High Commissioner to India.)

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