Cross- Regional Joint Statement on Global Net Zero

Delivered by 

Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti 

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

 on behalf of 

Bolivia, China, Gabon, India, Iran, Iraq, Mali, Nicaragua, Panama and Syria

[June 7, 2022; 1330 hrs]

On the occasion of the World Environment Day, I make this statement on behalf of Bolivia, China, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Mali, Nicaragua, Panama, Syria and my own country India regarding the concept of “Net Zero” in the context of combatting climate change.

• At the outset, we would like to underline our strong and unequivocal commitment to contribute to fighting climate change under UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

• We celebrate the 30^thanniversary of the adoption of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and acknowledge that the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention are the primary international, intergovernmental forums for negotiating the global response to climate change.

• We recall further the Paris Agreement, which, pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 2, thereof, will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.

• The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve global net zero or carbon neutrality around mid-century. 

6.    We welcome the text of the Paris Agreement that provides for ‘global peaking’. Article 4 of Paris Agreement reads: “In order to achieve the long-term temperature goal set out in Article 2, Parties aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing country Parties.”

7.    We believe that the word “global peaking” is a conscious and considered insertion in the Paris Agreement text with full recognition of the fact that peaking will take longer for developing countries. The developed countries, given their historical emissions, will have to peak first. That’s why the reference is to “global peaking” and not “individual peaking”.

8.    From this, it logically follows that when developing country parties peak later than developed countries, they will also achieve Net Zero later than developed countries. Consequently, it is the logical conclusion of the Article 4 of the Paris Agreement that when we consider Net Zero, we should only consider “Global Net Zero” and not “Individual Net Zero” for 2050. Anything other interpretation will be contrary to Article 4 of the Paris Agreement. Further, Global Net Zero is also fully in accordance with principles of CBDR and of Equity, enshrined in the UNFCCC.

9.    We need a clear recognition that developing countries will need much longer beyond 2050 to reach Net-Zero given their overarching goals of poverty eradication and development and will peak after the developed countries do. They will need to be given additional time-frame to peak and go towards Net-Zero, which will be beyond 2050. 

10.    The recent reports of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscore the highly disproportionate emissions between developed countries and the rest of the world.

11.    Consequently, the objective is to arrive at a “Global Net Zero” in 2050 and not “Individual Net Zero” that is now being sought to be made as a template for all countries. 

12.    We would also like to highlight that the Leaders’ Declaration of the G20 Summit in 2021 has referred to the relevance of achieving Global Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by or around mid-century. 

13.    It becomes clear that a Global Net-Zero, where developing countries take longer to reach Net-Zero, can only be achieved if developed countries reach Net-Zero earlier than 2050. Therefore, developed countries must reach Net Zero well before 2050 in order to achieve overall global net zero target by around mid-century on the basis of equity, CBDR and RC, poverty eradication and sustainable development.

14.    We, therefore, call on developed countries to do a Net-Negative in 2050 in order to vacate the carbon space in 2050 for developing countries to grow till they too reach Net-Zero. We call on them to do a Net-Zero much earlier than 2050, so that the world does not, in effect, move farther away from achieving the Paris targets

15.    Further, we urge developed countries to undertake clear, time-bound pathways to ensure that they meet their Paris commitments, which include not just mitigation targets but also targets in adaptation, loss and damage, climate-specific finance, technology transfer, capacity building etc. The latest report of the IPCC recognizes that although global tracked climate finance has shown an upward trend, current global financial flows for adaptation, including from public and private finance sources, are insufficient for and constrain implementation of adaptation options especially in developing countries.

16.    We, consequently, urge developed countries to raise their ambition in their net-zero target years with clear and short-term targets for mitigation and accelerated delivery of climate finance, technology transfer and other implementation support. The challenges of rapid global warming cannot be met solely through enhanced ambition of mitigation.

Thank You.