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The Climate Change Challenge and the North South Divide
Transcript of The Climate Change Challenge and the North South Divide
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THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE AND THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE
Raakhee Suryaprakash
As 195 nations debate on how to tackle climate change in Doha, lines are drawn between thedeveloped and developing countries. The economic crisis has tightened the pockets of the
developed North even as the developing South struggles to cope with basic developmental
issues that hamper their commitment to climate change. This economic divide has the
potential to derail the Doha conference and other such future summits.
There is 30 billion dollars in the Climate Change kitty but the North-South could hamper
implementation of a successful action plan to protect our environment. UN secretary general
Ban Ki-moon complimented China on its "smart investments and efforts" and said that
"together with China, the other BASIC countries (India, Brazil and South Africa) can play an
important role." United Kingdom has committed 1.8 billion Euros over the next two years tocombat climate change. This 40 percent increase in its contribution is a great example to
other industrialised nations to commit to global action towards a low-emission future where
everyone has the chance of a sustainable life.
Intellectual property rights and access to cutting edge technology that can change the course
of the battle against climate change are the purview of the richer nations. With the economy
in doldrums these nations are reluctant to pledge more funds and potentially profitable
technology transfer to the Third World. The World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration
with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has
proposed to launch a Momentum for Change: Innovative Financing for Climate-friendly
Investment but the divide between the haves and the have-nots could get in its way.
Ironically on the home front Jayanthi Natarajan the Minister of State (Independent Charge)
for Environment and Forests had to miss out on leading the Indian delegation with the
Congress preoccupied with getting its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Bill through the
parliament. So while India takes the international stance for equity to be central that is anti-
North at the Doha Conference domestically the tone is very pro-FDI and pro-North.
Clogged storm drains and disappearing marshlands and swamps as a result of inefficient
plastic recycling and disposal are hallmarks of the developing world. If India and other
nations of the Third World Network (TWN) are to turn this threat into an opportunity then the
way forward is upcycling. According to an article in theNew Scientist, an Indian-American
Vilas Ganpat Pol has developed a carrier-bag-to-nanotube technique that can literally turn
waste plastic bags to nanotubes used in lithium-ion batteriesa real money-spinner
when the economy is in as much of a pit as the environment. Such an enterprise would be a
great boon to the urban poor as part of the Momentum for Change. It could be a future
showcase of a successful public-private financing mechanism that supports climate change
adaption and mitigation like the nine public-private Lighthouse Activities selected by an
advisory panel coordinated by the UN Climate Change Secretariat. The Ahmedabad bus rapid
transit system, which created an integrated and accessible public transport system is one such
success story.
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An example of the North-South divide in technology to combat climate change is the case of
Swedens Waste to Energy (WtE) technology that has been making news. Swedens waste
incinerators and recycling plants provide 20 percent of the countrys heating and electricity
needs. This waste energy system allows only 4 percent of Swedens waste to reach its
landfills. This Scandinavian country has run out of garbage! Something that will neverhappen in urban India or anywhere in the Third World! Sweden now gets paid to import
garbage from Norway and is said to be sourcing more from Italy and Romania. This WtE
technology in the hands of developing nations would be a tool to fight climate change as it
will address not only the issue of overfull landfills and polluted marshlands but also provide a
viable alternative to coal as the fuel of thermal power stations that are the mainstay of most
developing nations power generation. Perhaps environmental and social entrepreneurs as
well as government bodies can exploit this window of opportunity to generate power and
employment while dealing with the plastic waste menace.