[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

MDG has 8 goals and 18 targets
GOAL	TARGET DESCRIPTION
1.povertyhunger	1. reduce BPL junta by 50%
1.povertyhunger	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 2/3^rd
5.mother	6. Reduce MMR by 3/4^th (75%)
6.disease	7. halt HIV/AIDS spread
6.disease	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

Data taken from Economic Survey 2013, page 218
Indicator	MDG target	India’slikelyachievement
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)

Overall India’s performance on MDG deadline (2015)
India can achieve these by 2015	cannot achieve these by 2015
Poverty reduction households with water access Gender parity, universal primary education under five mortality rate (With some effort)	MMR share of women in non-agri.employment birth attended by skilled personnel sanitation

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 India’s 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 “Sustainable development goals” (SDG)
UN general assembly has setup 30 member group to design SDG.

Proposed focus area under SDG (fodder for mains/Essay)
poverty eradication food security and nutrition health and population dynamics education gender equality and women empowerment water and sanitation	energy employment sustainable cities and human settlements sustainable production and consumption means of implementation

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 “RIO+20”

For more details on RIO+20 and a mile long article click me.

#3: Kyoto and WARSAW

Kyoto protocol	WARSAW summit
3^rd conference under UNFCC (1997)	19^th conference under UNFCC (2013)
Kyoto Protocol designed in this conference. It wants the Industrialized nations to reduce their GHG emission by around 5.2% by 2012. (against 1990 levels)	Like-minded Developing countries wanted NO LEGALLY BINDING commitment on “DEVELOPING” 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 Carbon trading. 2013: India registered 115 project= highest by any country. Clean Development mechanism Joint implementation	two mechanisms Loss and Damage mechanism REDD+ mechanism- UK, Norway and USA gave funds.
more details click me	more details click me

List of Greenhouse gases under Kyoto
Carbon dioxide (CO₂); Methane (CH₄); Nitrous oxide (N₂O);	Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); Sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆)

Mug up above list for tricky MCQs “which of the following is not a GHG?”
Do read NCERT Chemistry class11 chapter 14: environmental chemistry.

#4: Fodder: Future agreements

Kyoto	MDG
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: (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 world’s 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 ‘carbon’ and ‘development space’.
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 India’s commitment towards climate change and sustainable Development

India has not even utilized its fair share of the earth’s carbon space.
Between 1850 to 2010: India’s 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 India’s 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.

Difference between two projects?
Adaptation	Mitigation
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	Don’t 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 “public account of India” (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 “We’ve covered this topic in previous economic survey.” Therefore, time to shamelessly copy paste from previous summary, with minor updates.

TIMELINE of NAPCC
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, we’ve 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

mission will be implemented in 3 phases
Phase	Till March
First	2013
Second	2017 [we are in second phase]
Third	2022

Other missions under NAPCC

2.Energy	National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) by 2015, help save about 5% of our annual energy consumption, and nearly 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year via PAT and ESCert mechanism.
3.Water	National water mission. increase water use efficiency by 20% focus on over-exploited areas, integrated water Management, awareness generation etc. fancy stuff Finished pilot study on Godavari and Brahmani-Baitarani basin. Water resource ministry got ADB’s technical assistance.
4.Agro	National mission for sustainable agriculture. to enhance agro productivity to reduce agro vulnerability to weather, floods, draught etc. New activities focusing on horticulture, increases fish production, warehousing and seed processing.
5.Green India (forest)	National mission for Green India Plant additional 10 million ht. of forest lands, wastelands and community lands.
6.Habitat	National mission on Sustainable Habitat Energy-efficient buildings, sewage Management, urban planning, transport, etc. six sub sector. 2009: Green Building norms made mandatory for the CPWD since 2009 2013: Energy Conservation Building Code 2007 made mandatory for new as well as old buildings and incorporated in the Central Public Works Department (CPWD)
7.Knowledge	National mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change to Identify challenges arising from climate change, Promote knowledge development for health, demography, migration, and livelihood of coastal communities.
8.Himalayan Ecosystem	National mission for sustaining the Himalayan Eco System To reduce climate impacts on the Himalayan glaciers To promote community-based management of these ecosystems

#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
Need clearance from environment ministry	Need clearance from state level agencies.

Reform taken: B category projects further sub classified
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.

Second A&R question
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)

Third A&R question
Assertion	Government’s 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
Petro refine Iron-Steel Metallic mineral extraction Fertilizer Cement. Small scale Foundries, brick making etc.	Resource depletion Contamination of air, water and land Biodiversity loss Health hazards

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 “Domestic content requirement” (DCR)
So, indirectly the American (And any other foreign products) are eliminated from competition.

America accuses	India defends
Earlier India used to import thin solar films from outside. But in Nehru Solar mission (phase II), Indian government specifically made guidelines that thin solar films must be procured from desi players This is one type of non-tariff barrier = you’re violating WTO agreement.	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.	We only want to protect Indian businessmen. In past we’ve even imposed anti-dumping duty on Chinese and Indonesian solar companies. So far we’ve not impose such duties on American businessman.
Our solar panels are of higher quality and cheaper price than your bogus desi products.	On that logic, if we continue buying everything American for Government projects, then our local industry will never develop, because they won’t make good profits to invest in R&D. We must attain self-reliance for energy security. So even if it means using public money on expensive desi products- that’s fine. Public money should not be used to pay for imports- but to develop domestic production capacity.

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 it’s 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 “SMART CITIES”.

#2: Ecuador oil drilling in Yasuni Park

Amazon Rainforests= lungs of the world
Ecuador found large reserve of oil near Amazon basin – Yasuni National Park.
Yasuni national park – 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.