U.S. Challenged by India

August 10, 2009

Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz Insider
Editor-in-Chief

Climate change policies may be evolving in the United States. But they are they still formulating among developing nations. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton felt the full force of such challenges during a recent visit to India.

In what may be termed as a polite but tense exchange between Clinton and the Indian Environmental Minister, Jairam Ramesh, the two traded barbs and discussed their respective roles in helping to minimize man-made carbon emissions that are considered by United Nations scientists to be the leading cause of global warming.

The U.S. official said that it is not only the responsibility of the United States to head the global charge but that it is also the obligation of the leading developing nations that are a central source of such emissions -- a comment that met with an immediate rebuttal by the Indian official. Ramesh retorted that no authority tried to slow the growth of the western world during the industrial age and that India would not relent in its quest to modernize.

"There is no question that developed countries like mine must lead on this issue and for our part, under President Obama, we are not only acknowledging our contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, we are taking steps to reverse its ill effects,' said Clinton. "It is essential for major developing countries like India, (however,) to also lead because over 80 percent of the growth in future emissions will be from developing countries."

According to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the emission levels generated by Brazil, China, India and Russia will surpass those of the 30 developed nations tracked by the organization by 2030. It's a predicament that takes on even greater resonance in countries such as China and India that rely heavily on coal. In India, for example, more than half the population does not have access to electricity and while adding more renewables is high on the list, coal remains plentiful there.

As for India, it is outwardly "suspicious" of the United States, which it says has failed to take affirmative strides until recently in its own effort to curb global warming emissions. Having said that, India remained conciliatory and said that it, along with China, would "aspire" to cut such releases but that it would necessitate the financial help of the United States and other western nations.

"There is simply no case for the pressure," said Ramesh. "As if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours. Legally binding emissions targets won't be acceptable for India. It's going to be impossible to sell in our democratic system ... That does not mean that we are oblivious of our responsibilities."

Whose Ball?

In his reference to carbon tariffs, the Indian environmental minister refers to a climate-change bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier in the summer. That bill, if passed by the Senate, would tax imports from those countries that do not try to control their greenhouse gases by 2020. To add fuel to the fire, India -- along with the other leading developing nations -- will get a dose of heat in Copenhagen in December as 192 nations try to tackle the next phase of climate change talks.

The talks, to be spearheaded by the U.N., will focus on reaching 25 percent cuts in carbon emissions for developing countries by 2050, from 2000 levels. That's compared to 80 percent for richer countries. The global body has issued a report that says such an undertaking would cost the developed world $142 billion a year until 2020 -- subsidies that the organization says would be less than what those prosperous nations currently give their fossil fuel and agricultural sectors.

Short term, the U.N. says that the developing world is taking great strides to implement more renewable energy. India's renewable generation is now 3 percent of its overall portfolio and it says that it is trying to grow that. China, meanwhile, became the world's second largest wind market in terms of new capacity added. It is also the world's biggest photovoltaic manufacturer.

"The policies that they have stated so far are not enough," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters during the G-8 summit in July. "This is politically and morally imperative and a historic responsibility for the leaders ..." He is referring to the steps that the developed world has taken to help less developed nations. For his part, President Obama has said that his administration would outline in September more concrete steps that this country will take to assist less developed nations.

Secretary of State Clinton embraced the same sense of purpose during her visit to India. There, she emphasized that the two nations can work hand-in-hand in an effort to redefine the way that energy is produced and generated. The goal, she adds, is to include more green energy in each nation's respective energy packages. Such an approach would not just reduce emissions but it would create jobs -- and in the case of India, help electrify many parts of the country.

India understands. But it says that it is simply not in an economic position to reach the type of emissions cuts that the global community is expecting of it. If the developing nation is to move forward, it maintains that it will need plenty of financial assistance from the United States and the West. With the ball now firmly back in this country's court, the world will await the next move by U.S. officials.