Negotiators agree to set up a watered-down mechanism for addressing Loss and Damage from climate change
Negotiators gathered at the Polish capital sealed the new climate change
agreement avoiding a crash late in the evening on Saturday. But, this
required the countries to also lock themselves to a compromised
agreement with a low level of ambition to fight climate change.
Against a backdrop of developed countries unwilling to neither increase
their short-term emission reduction targets nor provide a road-map to
capitalise the existing Green Climate Fund nor show leadership on
framing of the elements of the 2015 climate agreement, the fortnight of
talks took the global community only an inch forward in the fight
against climate change and not a leap that was expected.
Where the end-game became about developed countries trying primarily to
break the fire-wall between rich and developing countries under the U.N.
climate convention, India was able to secure its red-lines and make
sure that it had not been harmed on issues of value and marked out by
the government for attention.
A relatively weak mechanism for addressing Loss and Damage from
inevitable climate change was set up — a far cry from the kind the poor
countries had initially asked for. But, with the U.S. and some other
developed countries playing hardball on the issue till late, the small
and vulnerable countries decided to live with what they were able to get
through a last moment gambit at the talks.
A rather loose road-map was drawn up for mobilising monies towards the
$100 billion annually by 2020 was also drawn up though the map forgot to
find a mid-term peg which had been demanded all through.
India playing closely with other BASIC countries and the Like-Minded
Developing Countries were able to withstand the pressure and diplomatic
games of the developed countries to try and drive a hole in the existing
firewall between rich and poor nations in the context of the new
climate agreement which is to be signed in 2015.
At the time of filing of the story a few procedural elements of
completion remained but they promised to throw few surprises or block
any of the decisions reported.
