COP27: Coal-dependent India wants ‘phase down’ to apply to all fossil fuels
- The move, which would expand the focus beyond coal, is likely to raise strong concerns from oil and gas-reliant countries
- The push stems largely from the coal-dependent country’s desire to not be singled out for its dependence on the dirty fossil fuel
Indian negotiators formally called on the Egyptian presidency of climate talks for the expanded language to be included in the cover text, a political statement of how countries will seek to tackle the climate crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.
The push stems largely from the coal-dependent country’s desire to not be singled out for its dependence on the dirty fossil fuel.
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“They don’t want to have singled-out emissions sources,” said Tom Evans, a policy adviser at climate think tank E3G. “It would be the first ever mention of this kind of term, but at the same time, if it’s vague enough to leave too much leeway on what that exactly means, it opens the door to a blurring of the lines.”
A spokesperson for India’s COP27 delegation did not respond to a request for comment.
It is unclear as to what the cover decision is likely to include and how comprehensive it will be, but the desire to add something that shows the world has not backtracked on climate ambition will stoke fierce debate in the second week of talks.