[Act 1] MDG, SDG, Kyoto Agreements
- Economic survey ch12: sustainable Development and climate change.
- As such chapter has hardly any new topics. Most of the stuff is fodder and bolbachhan.
#1: Millennium Development goals (MDG)
Who? | UN General assembly |
When? | Framed in 2000. (but targets calculation done based on 1990 levels) |
deadline | 2015 |
GOAL | TARGET DESCRIPTION |
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1.povertyhunger | 1. reduce BPL junta by 50% |
2. reduce hungry people by 50% | |
2.edu | 3. all boys & girls complete primary education |
3. genderequality | 4.Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education |
4.child | 5. reduce child mortality by 2/3rd |
5.mother | 6. Reduce MMR by 3/4th (75%) |
6.disease | 7. halt HIV/AIDS spread |
8. halt malaria etc. | |
7.SustainbleDevelopment | 9. integrate sustainable Development into national policies, reverse environment loss |
10.junta without access to water-sanitation : reduce their # by 50% | |
11. Improve life of at least 10 crore slum dwellers. | |
8.partnership | 12. reform training, financial system, good governance etc. |
13.needs of LDC countries | |
14. needs of small island and land locked countries | |
15. debt problem of developing countries | |
16. youth productive work | |
17. affordable drugs with help of pharma cos. | |
18. new ICT technology with help of private cos. |
MDG & India
Indicator | MDG target | Indiaâslikelyachievement |
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1.Poverty. BPL earning <1$/day | 23.9% BPL earning <1$ | 20.74 |
2A.Edu. Net enrollment ratio 2B.Literacy rate (15-24 years) |
100% | 100% |
3A. Gender parity index(boys to girls in primary edu) | 1 | 1 |
3B. share of women in non-agri. employment | 50 | 23.1 |
4A. under five mortality rate (1000 live births) | 42 | 50 |
4B. IMR (1000 live births) | 27 | 41 |
5A. MMR (1 lakh live births) | 109 | 139 |
5C. births attended by skilled personnel | 100% | 62% |
6.Halt HIV & other disease | no projectionsgiven in survey | |
7A.households with water access | 94%(Urban) 79%(Rural) | 98%(U) 96%(R) |
7B. households without sanitation access | 16%(U) 47%(R) | 12%(U) 61%(R) |
India can achieve these by 2015 | cannot achieve these by 2015 |
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Budget 2014 on sustainable Development
- Re-affirmed global commitment to develop new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) when the MDG expires in 2015.
- Outlined Indiaâs performance on sustainable development viz.
- 12th FYP gave prominent focus to Sustainable development.
- Since 90s till now, India has reduced its Carbon dioxide emission by 20% (per unit of GDP)
- 12% of our energy comes from renewable sources. (23 Gigawatts).
- National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs.) have been development.
#2: Sustainable Development goals (SDG)
- 2015: millennium Development goals will expire.
- Therefore, under RIO+20 summit, the leaders had decided to enact new âSustainable development goalsâ (SDG)
- UN general assembly has setup 30 member group to design SDG.
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What is sustainable Development?
- “Development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
- Brundtland commission on World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) gave above definition.
- This has been asked in MCQ- who gave definition, therefore need to remember.
What is Rio+20 summit?
- 1992: Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2012: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, in same place.
- but since 20 years had lapsed between two summit, therefore, second summit called âRIO+20â
For more details on RIO+20 and a mile long article click me.
#3: Kyoto and WARSAW
Kyoto protocol | WARSAW summit |
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3rd conference under UNFCC (1997) | 19th conference under UNFCC (2013) |
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Like-minded Developing countries wanted NO LEGALLY BINDING commitment on âDEVELOPINGâ countries. |
Kyoto protocol expires in 2020 | Decided to meet at Paris in 2015, to outline post- what to do after Kyoto protocol expires in 2020 |
Kyoto protocol expires in 2020 | Decided to meet at Paris in 2015, to outline post- what to do after Kyoto protocol expires in 2020 |
three mechanisms
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two mechanisms
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more details click me | more details click me |
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- Mug up above list for tricky MCQs âwhich of the following is not a GHG?â
- Do read NCERT Chemistry class11 chapter 14: environmental chemistry.
#4: Fodder: Future agreements
Kyoto | MDG |
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born in 1997 | 2000 |
expires in 2020 | 2015 |
Kyoto focus= industrialized (developed) countries to cut down their emission. | MDG focus= developing countries to improve human and environment welfare. |
But, in 2015: all countries will have to pledge emission cuts for the post 2020 period. | But in 2015: MDG will end. Therefore, global community designing future sustainable development goals (SDGs), according to Rio+20 mandate. Budget 2014, also affirmed this commitment. |
- 2014 is the last chance for all stakeholders to introspect to be able to wisely choose the world they want post 2015.
- Therefore future agreements:Â (1) post Kyoto agreement (2) SDG= these two will apply to all countries- whether they’re developing, developed countries.
- But applicability to all, should not amount to “uniformity of application”.
- Per capita energy use in developing countries is hardly 25% of developed countries.
- The bottom half of the world can do its bit but it cannot be expected to shoulder the bulk of the worldâs development, sustainability, and climate crisis burden.
- In other words, first world countries should further reduce emission and send truckload of donation to third world countries.
- In other words, Global community must embed the principles of equity and CBDR in the new agreements.
- Developing countries should have the discretion to fulfill their domestic goals in accordance with their national circumstances
- Developing countries must be given their fair share of âcarbonâ and âdevelopment spaceâ.
- Global community must stop taking solace in limited progress and move to decisive action.
#5: Fodder: Emission cuts vs India
Points from Economic Survey, about Indiaâs commitment towards climate change and sustainable Development
- India has not even utilized its fair share of the earthâs carbon space.
- Between 1850 to 2010: Indiaâs contribution to global emissions was only 2.7%, while that of the USA was 27%
- India lacks the resources to effectively respond to sustainability and climate challenges.
- We’ve not even achieved basic minimum standards of living for its entire population.
- 4 crore Indians don’t have electricity in their homes
- 8 crore Indians still use firewood for cooking
- We have to maintain a high economic growth for a large population
- We have to provide urbanization and industrialization.
- But mitigation and adaptation must continue.
- We’ve enacted a number of legislations on conservation of forests and ecosystems, waste management, and pollution control.
- We strongly believe that environmental conservation can go hand in hand with development
- But while pursuing higher GDP, we’ll keep “sustainability” at the core of Indiaâs planning process.
[Act 2] Climate funding
Only covering the climate funding mechanisms discussed in survey/budget.
CF#1: Global environment facility (GEF)
- 1991: started in the world bank
- Provides funding for UNFCC, convention of biological diversity (CBD), Stockholm convention on organic pollutants, Minamata convention on Mercury etc.
- So far, India used ~50 cr dollars from GEF. And itself pledged 1.2 core $ in GEF-5.
- India has used majority of GEF funding on mitigation projects ($4 cr), and only a small fraction on adaptation projects.
Adaptation | Mitigation |
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post-measure | pre-measure |
Building sea walls to protect against sea rise | Reduce emission to prevent global warming which leads to sea rise. |
Having ambulance facilities in dangerous highways/roads with curves and narrow lanes | Donât make dangerous roads in the first place. |
CF#2: National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF)
- Was created from a coal cess of 50 per ton.
- Falls under âpublic account of Indiaâ (And not under Consolidated fund of India).
- Budget 2014 increased coal cess to Rs.100 per tonne
- >15k crore rupees spent from this fund on JNNURM Solar lights, wind power projects etc.
Fodder: Climate finance problems
- Developed countries committed to providing US$ 100 billion per year to developing countries by 2020.
- But there is no comprehensive system for tracking climate finance
- proliferation of funds, and lack of coordination
- Developed countries providing Technological transfer instead of granting money
- To reduce global temperature by 2 Degree in 2050, we need 44 trillion USD. No single source will be sufficient for this amount.
- Countries can raise more money via domestic resource mobilization (DRM). But that depends on factors such as fiscal performance of the country, natural resource base, and size of tax base etc.
- We must explore new funds from South-South cooperation, and private finance.
[Act 3] India specific
#1: National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
The new economic survey itself shamelessly says âWeâve covered this topic in previous economic survey.â Therefore, time to shamelessly copy paste from previous summary, with minor updates.
2008 | PM launched NAPCC. |
2009 | PM requested state govt. to prepare SAPCC. (State Action plan on climate change) |
2014 | 26 states/UT submitted their SAPCC so far (as per economic survey) |
Thanks to NAPCC, weâve reduced the CO2 emission per GDP unit by 20%
Nehru Solar
- 2010: (Jawaharlal Nehru) National solar mission launched.
- Under ministry of new and renewable energy
Targets by 2022
- install 20GW solar power
- 2 GW of off-grid Solar
- 20 million sq. meter of solar thermal collector area
- 20 million rural households to have solar lighting
Phase | Till March |
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First | 2013 |
Second | 2017 [we are in second phase] |
Third | 2022 |
Other missions under NAPCC
2.Energy |
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3.Water |
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4.Agro |
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5.Green India (forest) |
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6.Habitat |
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7.Knowledge |
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8.Himalayan Ecosystem |
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#2: Environment clearance problem
Lengthy topic, only summarizing points from survey.
Why environmental clearance gets delayed?
- Fragmented policy. Several government agencies with differing policy mandates.
- State institutes have shortage of trained personnel, database, funds and infrastructure.
Reforms taken?
- Environment ministry has relaxed general conditions relating to distance of project from state boundaries.
- If mining projects that have already obtained Environmental Clearance (EC) under EIA Notification 2006, then they don’t have to get another EC during mining license
Renewal.
- Relaxed norms for Highway expansion projects.
- As such Environment impact assessment work is classified into two categories:
Category A | Category B |
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Need clearance from environment ministry | Need clearance from state level agencies. |
B1 | Need public hearing. |
B2 | Don’t need public hearing anymore. |
#3: Assertion reasoning: Market vs Environment
I’ve shifted this topic from Chapter on Industries to this chapter, for continuity in revision. Let’s direct check assertion reasoning type:
Assertion | Environmental degradation is the result of market failure |
Reason | Markets for environmental goods and services is non-existent in India. |
Correct answer | Both correct, R explains A. |
Assertion | Environmental degradation is the result of market failure. |
Reason | Lack of well-defined property rights is one of the reasons for market failure. |
Correct answer | Both correct, but R doesn’t explain A. (R explains what causes market failure but doesn’t explain how market failure causes environment degradation) |
Assertion | Governmentâs price control and subsidies on fossil fuelAggravates the achievement of environmental objectives. |
Reason | Such interventions create Market distortions. |
Correct answer | R right and explains A |
More fodder:
Indian manufacturing technology puts a heavy stress on the environment- via intensive resource and energy use.
Significant polluters | result |
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Appendix
some related topics in current affairs:
#1: Desi Liquor Solar subsidies =Anti-WTO, says USA
- Under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, Government has made specific guidelines for “local sourcing” i.e. some of the solar equipment must be procured from desi companies only. also called âDomestic content requirementâ (DCR)
- So, indirectly the American (And any other foreign products) are eliminated from competition.
America accuses | India defends |
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In many states of USA, you’re also doing the same against our solar panels. So, this is tit-for-tat. |
As per WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement, you cannot “discriminate” between desi vs foreign players while procuring goods/services for government projects. | But we’ve not signed that stupid agreement! |
You’re running a vendetta to hurt American businessmen. |
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Our solar panels are of higher quality and cheaper price than your bogus desi products. |
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What happened next?
- 2014: USA complained to WTO. WTO asked both parties (India-US) to find a solution through (informal) talks/consultation with 60 days deadline.
- But talks did not lead to satisfactory outcome.
- May 2014: USA asked to WTO form a dispute settlement panel and adjudicate this like a court matter.
- July 2014: onwards itâs just taarikh pe taarikh.
- Aug 2014: US envoy on climate change meets our Environment minister. Only Lip service on dispute. Their main agenda is to sign energy efficiency projects for those âSMART CITIESâ.
#2: Ecuador oil drilling in Yasuni Park
- Amazon Rainforests= lungs of the world
- Ecuador found large reserve of oil near Amazon basin â Yasuni National Park.
- Yasuni national park â UNESCO Biosphere reserve. Has two primitive uncontacted tribes (Kichwa and Waorani tribe)
- Park has more biodiversity than entire North America
- 2007: Ecuador Government asked world to give money, in exchange of not drilling the oil and harming environment.
- So far, hardly 13 million$ received. Government wanted >3.5 billion$.
- Therefore, Government decided to start oil drilling in Yasuni National park.
#3: Tar balls
- Tar balls are lumps of petroleum
- How are they formed? Oil spillage from tankers. Regular ships discharging burnt-oil into sea.
- This oil reacts with sea-water=> tar balls formed.
- Tar balls were washed ashore during the pre- and post-monsoon period along the Konkan belt Goa, Karwar in Karnataka and south Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
- Why problem? Tar balls harmful for marine organism. They have foul smell, sticky to walk on=beach tourists decline.