'India Should've Asked for More': 7 Questions to AAP's Reena Gupta on COP 28
Reena Gupta represented Delhi government at COP28 climate summit in Dubai, alongside 100 mayors and global leaders.
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Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
"Honestly, I'm a little disappointed because India is one of the worst impacted countries in terms of climate change. This year, when we participated in COP 28, we should have asked for much more," said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Reena Gupta, who represented the Delhi government at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, alongside 100 mayors and global leaders.
On Thursday, 7 December, Gupta was Arvind Kejriwal government's face at the conference to discuss environmental challenges that the national capital is facing.
The Quint caught up with Gupta to answer seven key questions on Delhi's fight against climate change, the environmental and air pollution crisis before the national capital, and India's achievements at the global summit.
You represented the Delhi government at COP28. Tell us how it went and what it aimed to achieve.
I was very disappointed. I don't think much was achieved. One of the biggest things is that all the countries in the West are the ones that have polluted the Earth more. They are historically responsible for climate change. So, one was hoping that in this COP, they would agree and they would pledge a good amount of money. And there have been calculations on how much it's going to cost. They did agree on a on a loss and damage fund, but it is minuscule.
I spoke about water in Delhi and I spoke about transport in Delhi.
There was a lot of conversation around how the world is urbanising and how more and more people are going to live in cities, which is the reality in India and the world over. And then if such a huge population is going to live in cities, how do we make our cities climate friendly?
Decarbonising of cities, decarbonising of transport was one big issue that was discussed, and there was a lot of conversation about public transport and how do we make public transport affordable, accessible. So, everybody was very surprised to hear that public transport for women in Delhi is free.
Give us a few key highlights of the Delhi governance model.
If we look at climate of Delhi, transport becomes a big factor impacting the climate. So, our focus is on increasing public transport, making public transport safe, reliable and affordable, and electrification of public transport.
Delhi gets around 3,00,000 immigrants every year and a lot of these immigrants are climate induced immigrants.
For example, if there is flooding in Uttarakhand, there is cyclone in Odisha, or the agriculture productivity goes down, then a lot of these people move to cities to look for work. So, cities in future will need a lot of funds to be able to build infrastructure to cater to these climate change-induced refugees, if I could use that word.
Do you think the Delhi government is doing as much as it should for tackling climate change and environmental issues in the national capital?
Delhi Government is doing a lot, but as you know, that climate and environment are not issues that can be tackled by one state government.
These are more regional issues. So, we are hoping that the central government takes leadership and brings all the regional players together. For example, if you look at Yamuna river, it flows though several states. Those states have to come together and tackle the issue. For example, if you look at air pollution, one cannot build a wall around Delhi. So, the whole of NCR region has to get together and tackle this issue.
Speaking of pollution, every time the issue is brought up, the Delhi government somehow blames the neighboring states.
See, it is not just Delhi. The whole northern India plain has this issue every year and all the state governments need to come together and they need to solve this issue.
And who will bring the state governments together? It's only the central government that can bring everybody together because of all the steps that we've taken in Delhi, Delhi's own contribution to air pollution has gone down by 30%. But now, if you want to improve it further, we have to bring all the state governments together.
We have to give targets to every state. We have to tell Haryana - these are the five things you have to do. And every year, the Supreme Court and the Central Air Quality Commission give out these orders. But it is only Delhi that follows the orders.
Why does the deadline to clean Yamuna by the Delhi government keep extending?
See, again with Yamuna problem - all the states through which the Yamuna flows are states that are polluting it. All of those states, again, have to come together. It has to be a regional project to clean the Yamuna. It is not just the Delhi government that can clean Yamuna on its own.
What are the key environmental challenges that the Delhi government is prioritising right now?
So, for us, making sure that there is enough water in Delhi, making sure that the air of Delhi is clean - those are the two key issues. And there is enough green space in Delhi. So, for example, we recently started working on Lake Rejuvenation Project. It also increases the water table. So, the water security of the city gets better.
How do you perceive India's participation in COP 28 this year? How do you think the country has done?
Honestly, I'm a little disappointed because India is one of the worst impacted countries in terms of climate change. This year, when we when we participated in COP, we should have asked for much more.
The Western countries historically - because of their emissions - we are in this crisis of climate change now. And countries like India have contributed very little , less than 5% to historical emissions.
The world has agreed that there is going to be a loss and damage fund, but the commitments are very tiny. The commitments have only been $700 million. Whereas the scientists saying that the losses are in hundreds of billions of dollars. There are some estimates around $500 billion. So, 700 million is nothing.
The other thing that we should have asked for - because India is an agrarian country and 60% of our population depends on farmersn - a loss and damage fund for the farmers
If we want farmers to continue to farm, continue to live where they are, then we need to establish a fund for them to be able to compensate them. When there's a cyclone or there's a flood or there's a drought, the farmers lose their livelihoods. Who is going to compensate them for this?
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