Life of Plastic Uruguay meet concludes (GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Recently, the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1), tasked with developing an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, concluded in Uruguay’s Punta Del Este.
- It implicitly endorsed the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)’s position that plastic pollution is rooted in the material’s lifecycle.
- The INC-1 was convened and managed by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Details:
- The UN Secretariat’s document titled ‘Summary of plastic pollution science’ noted that plastic pollution was an offshoot of the linear take-make-dispose economy.
- It said the current trends needed to be replaced by a circular economy which forms the basis of the solutions to the plastic pollution problem facing the world.
The document proposed four strategic goals that can guide the transition to a circular economy:
- Reduce the size of the problem by eliminating and substituting problematic and unnecessary plastic items, including hazardous additives.
- Ensure that plastic products are designed to be circular — reusable as a first priority, and recyclable or compostable after multiple uses at the end of their useful life.
- Close the loop of plastics in the economy by ensuring that plastic products are reused, recycled, or composted.
- Manage plastics that cannot be reused or recycled (including existing pollution) in an environmentally responsible manner.
First session of the INC-1:
- The first session of the INC-1 came nine months after representatives from 175 countries endorsed a landmark resolution on plastic pollution at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).
- The UNEA resolution 5/14 calls for the international legally binding instrument to promote a comprehensive lifecycle approach to chemicals and waste through sustainable production and consumption of plastics by adopting sound product design, and environment-friendly waste management.
- It identified and recognised the growing concern stemming from the links between plastic, human health, and environmental health.
Burden of plastic waste:
- Global plastic production totalled 460 million tonnes (Mt) in 2019, double of 234 Mt in 2000, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- Plastic waste more than doubled during the same period to 353 Mt from 156 Mt. In 2000 alone, 22 Mt of plastic material leaked into the environment. By 2019, 109 Mt had accumulated in rivers and 30 Mt in oceans.
Climate talks as shortchanging international law
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Context:
- Fraud in public law is the deliberate attempt to avoid provisions of the statute. In the climate negotiations for instance, areas of interest to developing countries are not covered or sparsely covered, while other areas are over-regulated.
- Equitable sustainable development is not even discussed. At COP27, the policy debate was no longer legitimised by science. There seems to be a concerted effort to fraudulently change the basic structure of the Climate Treaty.
Three problems with the current negotiating process:
- First, citizens in developed countries are not even aware that two-thirds of their national emissions of carbon dioxide come from their diet, transport, and residential and commercial sectors, which together constitute the major share of their GDP; the consumption sectors are not independent silos but reflect their urban lifestyles.
- Second, the process ignores that global well-being will also follow urbanisation of the developing country’s population, requiring fossil fuels for infrastructure and energy to achieve comparable levels.
- Third, the need for vast quantities of cement and steel in developing countries for infrastructure is not being considered.
What it translates for developing countries?
- As late urbanisers, developing countries account for more than half the annual emissions and most emissions growth. They cannot affordably access many of the new technologies to decarbonise quickly.
- The result is a shrinking of their policy space and human rights, endangering efforts to achieve comparable levels of well-being with those who developed earlier without any constraints.
- Such discussions are not taking place in the climate negotiations because of the way the agenda is set.
Differentiated common responsibility:
- The objective of the Climate Treaty is to avoid a concentration of cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide, prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and enable sustainable economic development. The Paris Agreement (2015) agreed to a 1.5°C global temperature goal.
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018 recommended that net emissions needed to zero out around 2050. In Glasgow, in 2021, negotiators zeroed in on coal to reduce future emissions.
- This initiative was not based on science and it ignored the key finding of the IPCC on the centrality of the carbon budget, i.e., cumulative emissions associated with a specific amount of global warming that scientifically links the temperature goal to national action.
- Carbon budgets are robust as they can be estimated accurately from climate models. And, they are the most useful for policy as they couple the climate to the economy consistent with the science of both.
- The IPCC, in 2018, estimated the budget for a 50% chance of avoiding more than 1.5°C of warming to be 2,890 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (now, it is less than 400bn tonnes), raising the question on how late developers will attain comparable levels of well being.
Climate justice:
Climate injustice flows from the negotiations and not from the text of the Climate Treaty:
- First, the process adopted the structure of international law in a manner that rejected historical responsibility for a continuing problem, and steadily shifted the burden to China and India.
- Second, the agenda was set around globalised material flows described as global warming (the symptom), and not wasteful use of energy.
- Third, public finance is used as a means to secure a political objective, and not to solve the problem itself. The $100 billion promised at Paris along with pre-2020 commitments constituting the incentive for developing countries to agree to a global temperature goal has not materialised. And, new funding for ‘Loss and Damage’ will be from a “mosaic of solutions”, constituting a breach of trust.
- Fourth, the longer term trend has been ignored. With one-sixth of the global population, the developed country share in 2035 will still be 30%. Asia’s emissions with half the world’s population will rise to 40% remaining within its carbon budget. Pressures to further reduce emissions displace their human rights.
Conclusion:
- India’s thrust on LiFE (or “Lifestyle for Environment”), with the individual shifting from wasteful consumption of natural resources goes back to the original science.
- Consumption-based framing challenges the ‘universalism’ that has dominated the negotiations and its common path of reductions based on single models.
- The carbon budget formalises a ‘diversity’ of solutions. For example, in developed countries, exchanging overconsumption of red meat for poultry can meet half the global emissions reduction required by the end of the century.
- A just transition for developing countries is about keeping within their carbon budget. And not de-carbonisation of arbitrarily selected sectors.
New Indian Navy Crest unveiled
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- Recently, the President of India has approved introduction of a new design for the President’s Standard and Colour and Indian Navy Crest for the Indian Navy, which were unveiled at Visakhapatnam on Navy Day on 04 Dec 2022.
Background:
- The erstwhile design of the President’s Standard and Colour for the Indian Navy was instituted on 06 Sep 2017.
- The design comprised one each horizontal and vertical red bands intersecting at the centre and the National Emblem inserted at their intersection.
- The National Flag was at the upper left canton adjacent to the staff and a Golden Elephant was at the lower right canton on the fly side. This design was inspired from the erstwhile Naval Ensign.
New design of the President’s Standard and Colour:
- The Indian Navy adopted a new Naval Ensign on 02 Sep 2022, and the new design of the President’s Standard and President’s Colour awarded to the Indian Navy incorporates this change.
- The new design of the President’s Standard and Colour comprises three main constituents:
- The National Flag in the upper left canton adjacent to the staff,
- The State Emblem underscribed with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ in Golden Colour on the upper right canton on the fly side, and
- A Navy Blue - Gold Octagon below the Golden State Emblem.
- The Octagon has twin golden octagonal borders, encompassing the golden National Emblem (Lion Capital of Ashoka – underscribed with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ in blue Devnagri script) resting atop an anchor; and superimposed on a shield.
- Below the shield, within the octagon, in a golden bordered ribbon, on a Navy Blue background, is inscribed the motto of the Indian Navy ‘Sam No Varunah’ in golden Devnagri script.
- The Golden State Emblem signifies ‘Power, Courage, Confidence and Pride’ whilst the Navy Blue – Golden Octagon shape draws inspiration from Shivaji Maharaj Rajmudra or the Seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and represents the eight directions (four cardinal and four inter cardinal), symbolising the Indian Navy’s maritime outreach.
- The new design of President’s Standard and Colour highlights India’s glorious maritime heritage and also symbolises a powerful, courageous, confident and proud Indian Navy.
Indian Navy Crest:
- The Indian Navy Crest has been amended to replace the foul anchor with a Clear Anchor. The clear anchor depicts steadfastness of the Indian Navy to deter any challenge in maritime domain, and represents clarity in vision, mission and aspirations of its sailors.
- The Clear Anchor also depicts Indian Navy’s commitment towards securing the Coast and Maritime Interest of India. The change would imply removal of the symbolic nautical rope in the Crest Designs.
- The Modified Indian Navy Crest has been introduced with effect from 04 Dec 22 on the occasion of the Navy Day 2022.
- The New Naval Crest has a traditional naval clear anchor below the Ashoka Lion Head with ‘शंनोवरुणा:’ inscribed below it, which is an invocation from the Vedas meaning ‘May the Ocean God be Auspicious unto us’.
- The phrase was adopted as the motto of the Indian Navy on the suggestion of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General of Independent India.
President’s Standard and President’s Colour:
- The President’s Standard and President’s Colour are awarded to static and mobile formations of the Indian Navy respectively, to acknowledge their distinguished and meritorious service to the Nation.
- The Indian Navy was the first among the three Services to be awarded the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951 by the then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad. In the Indian Navy, the President’s Colour has been awarded to the Western, Southern, and Eastern Naval Commands, both Western and Eastern Fleets, the Submarine Arm, the Naval Air Arm, INS Shivaji, INS Valsura and the Indian Naval Academy.
- The 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron was the first Naval Combatant Squadron to be honoured with the President’s Standard.
