Equity in Climate Action

• Context (TH): Researchers argue that current climate action scenarios overlook the historical responsibility of developed countries and lack equity prioritisation.
• For e.g, Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) used for mitigation pathways often neglect equity principles.
• They advocate for models and scenarios that prioritise equity and climate justice.
• A recent study provides evidence supporting the aforementioned assertions.

About Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports

• The reports by the UN IPCC are currently in its Seventh Assessment cycle (AR7).
• These reports assess climate-related scientific literature to provide insights into the state of knowledge on climate change.
• The UN IPCC utilises Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to develop “modelled pathways” to estimate global warming. For example, its energy models can project future consumption.
• IAMs are sophisticated models that analyse human and earth systems to forecast potential futures for energy, climate, and economies.
• These models integrate various disciplines, including macroeconomics, energy consumption, land use changes, and climate dynamics, to offer policy-relevant insights on climate action.
• However, IAMs have limitations.
  • Firstly, it prioritises least-cost assessments. For e.g, the absolute cost of setting up a solar plant or undertaking afforestation in India is lower than in the U.S.
  • Secondly, it neglects equitable burden-sharing among nations (Equity).
• Despite these shortcomings, IAMs play a crucial role in informing climate policy decisions.

Findings of the new study

• Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, and M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, conducted the study. They assessed 556 out of 700 scenarios in IPCC’s AR6 report.
• They found that Global scenarios projected in IPCC’s AR6 report indicate more carbon sequestration and CCS deployment in developing nations.
• This implies that developing countries may bear the responsibility for both mitigation and carbon dioxide removal.
• The scenarios overlook the historical responsibility of the Global North for climate issues.

Way forward

• The UNFCCC emphasises equity and differentiated responsibilities, urging developed nations to take the lead in fighting climate change.
• Equity suggests that developed areas should aim for net negative emissions and share the remaining carbon budget with less developed regions.
• Developed regions should take more responsibility for reducing emissions and supporting less developed areas in their climate efforts.
• This approach aims to ensure fairness and equal participation in addressing climate change across regions.