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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.