New Delhi: The United Nations has published the first informal draft of the Environment Agreement during the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-27) released in Egypt and it does not include the suggestions made by India to reduce the use of fossil fuels in a phased manner.
However, this suggestion of India was supported by the European Union and many other countries. The draft also does not mention the introduction of loss funds.
The draft stresses the importance of completing efforts at all levels to achieve the Paris Agreement’s objective of not allowing it to rise beyond two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial level temperatures to prevent temperature rise and speaks of efforts to limit temperature rise to one and a half degrees Celsius.
“The draft encourages continued efforts to find solutions towards reducing unbalanced coal emissions in a phased manner and to rationalize stone fuel subsidies in accordance with national conditions and recognise the need for support for change”.
Almost the same terminology was used in the climate agreement signed in Glasgow last year. When contacted, an environment ministry spokesperson said the Indian representatives did not want to comment on it as “talks are on”. Poor and developing countries have demanded that cop-27 should end with the decision to launch a fund for losses and losses.
The 20-page paper-free draft presented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is 8,400 words longer than the Glasgow Agreement. The Glasgow Agreement was about 4600 words long and was one of the longest text materials in the history of the United Nations Climate Summit. During the deliberations on Saturday, India had proposed a phased reduction in the use of not only coal but also of fossil fuels.
European Union Vice President Frans Timmermans had on Tuesday said the European Union would support India’s suggestion to reduce the use of all fossil fuels in a phased manner “different from the Glasgow Agreement”.
UN climate envoy John Kerry said the UN supports the suggestion as long as it focuses on “unhindered oil and gas”, according to reports.