Introduction
Driving through India the problem presents itself immediately. The beauty of the land disappears into a manmade fog, the ancient history hides itself as it loses itself in haze. While visitors come to see the Taj Mahal and perhaps to party in Goa, the development boom in India that helped to bring in tourists, has become an environmental disaster waiting to happen. The cities are overcrowded with people and animals which contribute to India’s growing climate problems (Food and Agricultural Association of the United Nations, 2010 pg 1). The water is undrinkable and the air, dense with pollution, creates a smell that over powers the smell of spices that visitors would hope to encounter on their journey to India. Trash lines the streets where a great civilization was created. For years, India, with a population of over a billion people, prioritized development over the environment , but with the world coming to terms with global climate change India could not ignore the issue any longer. In March of 2006, President Bush and Prime Minister Singh agreed to a strategic partnership which included measures to help India develop cleaner and more efficient energy ( President Bush,2006, pg382). In May of that year, realizing that if India wanted to open itself up to the 21st century it would have to deal with one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, India put forth a National Environmental Policy (Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2006, pg1). This paper seeks to examine the policies outlined in the National Environmental Policy and will look at how such policies have been implemented, further more it will examine India’s role in the international community in dealing with climate change. I begin with a brief overview of some of the climate change issues that India faces, from there I look at a number of policies that India has undertaken to deal with the environmental issues it faces. I conclude with a discussion of India’s role in the international climate change talks and I re-examine the balance between Indian development and environmental impact.
The Environmental Challenge
India is one of the most crowded nations and population control measures that were instituted in 2000 have not been successful (Mahapatra, 2008, p.1) Population density has exacerbated pollution problems that are natural consequence of industrialization, principally through vehicle traffic. It is estimated that at least 73 million Indians drive (Office of the Prime Minister of India, 2008, 69) In 2003 the government outlined an Auto Fuel Policy to address issues of emission standards through the use of new technologies that would help India reach European standards (Niak, 2003, p 3). The government has credited such emission standard along with other components of the policy such as banning old vehicles with bringing NO2 within government standards, however levels of other green house gases are still high do in part to the increased amount of drivers and other factors that contribute to climate change (Central Pollution Control Board, 2008, p1)
Another big factor that contributes to India’s pollution problems is its reliance on coal for energy. While India has started investing in cleaner technologies and alternative sources of energy, coal supplies 66 percent of their energy and according to government estimates will continue to until 2032(Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2009, p 123). The effects of pollution on India threaten many national initiatives that it has had in place for years because it causes water and food security issues and increases health risks which creates the possibility of setting India back in terms of long term national efforts to increase living standards (Office of the Prime Minister of India, 2008, pg 72). Having said that, climate change policy is secondary to India’s push towards development.
Here we see a paradox within India’s climate change policies, it is facing international pressure to reduce its environmental footprint at a time in which its development requires a reliance on energy and an increase in industrial output. In this way, India has to find a balance between its national developmental priority and global priorities. While India’s relationship with the United States has forced India to take on a bigger role in fighting climate change, India has often been at odds with the developed world with respect to how much of a regulatory burden it should put on industries that support its economy.
Policy
Shortly after agreeing to a strategic relationship with the United States in 2006, India revealed its National Environmental Policy. The policy outlined several steps that India is willing to take in order to reduce its impact on global climate change, including regulations that would make polluters pay for polluting, the adoption of new technologies including hydropower, improvement of national transport systems and the adoption of safer energy sources such as bio-fuels (Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2006. Pg 11-46). Perhaps the biggest contribution that the policy made was that it gave municipalities greater responsibility for identifying environmental problems and addressing them (Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2006, pg17). This has lead to an incremental approach to solving India’s problems in which certain areas address area specific problems and the government uses lessons from these policy outcomes to help adopt stronger national policies.
This method was used in the creation of eco-cities in which select cities were supposed to conduct site specific projects to set a national example of sustainable development (Comptroller and Auditor General 2010, pg 65). According to the most recent audit report conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General, these eco-cities failed to complete their projects and achieve their policy goals; this was primarily due to funding shortfalls (Comptroller and Auditor General 2010, pg 65). A similar strategy was undertaken in a 2010 study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board, India’s regulatory agency that deals with pollution. The study looked at pollution patterns in six major cities in order to discern the primary sources of pollution. The study showed that nitric oxide remains an emerging pollutant and that the primary sources of pollution remain vehicles, cow waste, and industry (Gautum, 2010, pg 1-192). The study reiterated many solutions that were suggested by the Auto Fuel Plan and have been stressed by numerous commitments that India has made over the years, including introducing cleaner fuel into the markets, forcing industries to use cleaner technologies and the promotion of public transportation (Gautum, 2010, pg 1-192). The report also stresses that monitoring pollution can only demonstrate the extent to which a problem exists but that once these problems are identified the government needs to do a better job of addressing ways in which to deal with pollution (Gautum, 2010, pg 74).
While India monitors levels of green house gasses throughout the country, little has been done to address problems once they have been detected because the government has failed to clearly define emission standards and regulate industries. One way in which India has attempted to control pollution and establish standards is through a system in which it monitors industrial clusters and rates them based on data related to how much the area pollutes, areas with scores above 70 are considered “critically polluted” and they are required to develop roadmaps for reducing emissions (Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2009, 115). In the latest Annual Report conducted by the Minister of Environment and Forestry 43 industrial clusters were identified as “critically polluted” and only a few areas, including Delhi, have drawn up plans to deal with pollution (Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2009, 117). Another way in which the government has attempted to regulate pollution is through the Charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection which sets emission targets for many industries and requires that they implement plans to meet those targets (Central Pollution Control Board, 2003, pg1-37)
In addition to its outline of policy initiatives and its focus on decentralizing environmental policy, India’s National Environmental Policy of 2006 stresses the role that India sees itself and other developing countries playing in the global climate change battle. Several times the policy stressed that while India will take on the domestic policies as outlined, its national priority is development and poverty elevation (Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2006, pg 10). While the policy began with a commitment to international climate change efforts, it emphasized that developed countries must recognize the right of India to develop and that international agreements must not get in the way of India’s ability to develop (Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2006, pg 10).This is largely constant with India’s increased role in global climate talks in the last few years.
India’s Global Role
India, which is a party to the Kyoto Protocol and has regional alliances through the Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the India-China Partnership on Combating Climate Change, has consistently operated on the global stage from the framework that it will continue to industrialize but that it will seek out best practices to reduce pollution (Government of India 2009, pg1). The Kyoto protocol is a key component of India’s role in the international community in that it states that developing nations are not required to redirect resources from other initiatives to climate change projects, it also allows developing countries to engage in cap in trade policies and requires developed countries to help developing countries adopt cleaner technology (Office of The Prime Minister of India 2008, pg 47). A year after forming its strategic relationship with the United States and putting forth its National Environmental Policy, India met with 190 other countries, including its regional rival China that has been historically opposed to long-term discussions on climate change (The Economist,2007, pg 1). These discussions lead to the “Bali Roadmap”, an international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by having developed countries reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2020 and emphasizing the need for the international community to assist developing countries in plans to reduce emissions (The Economist Table, 2007, pg 1).
Following the establishment of the roadmap, India announced its “National Action Plan on Climate Change”. The plan called for several policy priorities including using solar energy in urban areas and in industries, using tax breaks to promote energy efficiency in the energy sector which is vital to India’s economy but accounts for 31 percent of its total carbon emissions, instituting building codes and training builders so that buildings can be more energy efficient, and improving public transportation which could reduce carbon emissions by 433 million tons by 20311(Office of The Prime Minister of India, 2008, pg 1-52). The international community met again in 2009 to advance plans to reduce carbon emissions, prior to the meeting Indian Prime Minister Singh reaffirmed that India can’t afford to adopt policies that may hurt its overall development stating that it would not adopt targets for reducing green house gasses but that it would try to make sure that per capita emission didn’t surpass the average in the developed world (Singh, 2009, pg 1-12). This became a sticking point in the discussions and India aligned itself with other developing countries to make sure that no regulations would be passed that would be inconsistent with their development priorities. As a result a compromise was between the developing nations including India and China and the developed world (Vidal and Watts, 2009, pg 1). As a result the international community reaffirmed its commitment to assisting developing countries, however the goal of reducing emissions by 80 percent by 2050 was abandoned and no new targets were established (Vidal and Watts, 2009, pg 1).
Despite its role in disrupting the international communities goals and despite the fact that the developed nations were unable to meet their financial commitments, India remained committed to the Kyoto Protocol and has reaffirmed its policy initiatives (Goldenberg, 2010 pg 1). In 2010 India announced a number of new steps that it would take to advance previously established policies including steps to plant trees that it predicts would reduce the amount of carbon in the environment by 43 million tons annually, plans to tax coal companies, plans to generate 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 and plans to implement emission buying credit systems in 700 Industries (Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2010, pg 1-7) India has also promised to release statistics on its green house gas emissions every two years (Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2010, pg 1-7). Some statistics have already pointed to the possible successes of Indian policy. According to five studies conducted in 2009, India’s per capita green house gas emissions are expected to fall below that of developed nations by 2020 (Ramesh, 2009, pg 1). While the international community will be tracking such progress closely, such expectations give India the hope that it can continue to develop while limiting its environmental impact.
Conclusion
India is in a tough position when it comes to climate change. It is understandable that it has other policy priorities such as dealing with poverty and health and it makes sense that it would focus significant efforts on development. Furthermore, it has regional conflicts with China and Pakistan, which have also been prioritized by the international community. Just as India has made significant strides in education, women’s rights, poverty reduction, and breaking long standing socio-economic bearers imposed by the cast system, developed countries, which flourished on the backs of industrialization, have told India that it needs to make sacrifices in order to reduce global climate change. While India may lack some of the resources and capital to implement all of the policies outlined in this paper and while it has a long way to go in dealing with domestic climate issues, human capital has become a force in changing Indian society and India would do well to use such entrepreneurial instincts to advance efforts in dealing with climate change. While the Indian government may see the international efforts on climate change to be a burden on its economic success it also provides India, with its comparative advantage in the knowledge economy, an opportunity to embrace global priorities by becoming the face of green technological innovation. Developed nations are hungry for innovation in the green technology sector and they see such a sector as instrumental to economic growth. While the manufacturing of such products may go to China, this still provides India with the opportunity to lead the world towards greener pastures.
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