Once upon a time, India watched international climate meetings with a certain distaste.
Indira Gandhi played the role of malcontent at the 1972 Stockholm Conference that launched modern environmental diplomacy, portraying these concerns as a luxury for rich countries that poorer countries cannot afford. But now everything has changed, and New Delhi can no longer refer to poverty and not follow the environmental agenda, since India has moved from the category of regional Asian powers to that of the world, that is why it can no longer refer to poverty to use the privileges of this shameful but forgiving position. Bloomberg columnist David Fickling writes about it.
This attitude is changing. Now, developed countries, which have long been at the forefront of climate change efforts, appear to be lagging behind. India is taking the lead, fueled by growing self-confidence in the country, which is the world’s most populous and has the fastest economic growth this year among the largest G20 economies.
The answer to this paradox is simple: the environment, ecology is not something that can be separated and isolated. If all the rules are respected by the absolute majority of the countries, the non-respect of the rules by one State will cause damage for all the others. So, in a sense, India holds the fate of the world in its hands, just like China. Unless the Celestial Empire has already realized this role and this responsibility, having submitted to necessity.
Formerly marginalized from the environmental debate, the emerging economy wants to play it in its favour, even if it still hesitates for fear of slowing down the pace of development and industrial progress. However, it should be noted that rapid development is achieved due to the use of fossil fuels. And now at the top it is proposed to abandon the miracle cure.
However, the changes that have taken place in New Delhi are striking, writes Fickling. India has made (so far at least in theory) green development, climate finance and sustainable living its number one priority by announcing it during its G20 presidency this year. The Asian giant is reportedly considering joining Germany’s proposed Climate Club as an affordable way to reduce industrial pollution.
As the expert writes, so far everything is unstable, but a start has been made. Uncertainty about the direction in which New Delhi is heading only underscores the shifting center of gravity. India’s emissions of greenhouse gases and harmful substances may have surpassed those of the European Union last year to become the largest in the world after China and the United States, but at least the government has recognized the problem and announced its participation in the common cause. It gives hope to the whole world, concluded Fickling.
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