Getting to C.H.I.N.A.

Posted on 03. Oct, 2010 by Leela Raina in India

Dear Readers, since all of you mostly expect a blog with lots of analogies , I wanted to try out something new. I thought why not revert back to methods of description used back in class 2? So, I would like to present you a picture composition from my travels from Chandigarh to Tianjin in China and hope that you could find the hidden letters in the photos!

The first hurdle you have to cross to get to China is acquiring your visa. You can be sure that they check your facebook profile and conduct handwriting analysis on your written application and of course screen you thoroughly before giving you a visa.

On the auspicious day of 20^th of September I got a call from the Chinese Embassy that I could collect my visa from the visa centre the very next day along with my refund. For all those who had to pay for the visa – never mind, just assume that you have contributed to the adaptation funds for a developing country .Although I am sure you might have wanted to contribute to an island state instead, but hey the Chinese are creating these insane green technologies which means you just bought them some R & D!

I practically used all kinds of transport to get to Tianjin including a rickshaw, autorikshaw, cars, metro,trams, trains, flights and local buses out of which I feel that the Delhi metro is the most comfortable .So considering a lot of people had visa issues one does expect that there would be less people inside the Tianjin Conference Centre but you surely shouldn’t expect the intercessional to be dull at all , it will definitely be an action packed week and I will bring all the action to your doorstep!

So what can we expect from China, and exactly how important is it? What role can India play and how will the BASIC play out in the run up to the cancun talks?

C - CONSENSUS

Its hard to comprehend what consensus would look like when you have the 192 countries under the UN defined under numerous constellations and political groups demanding for differentiated versions of a climate deal , but lets step back and reflect at the major turning points in history where consensus building was difficult but possible. For Indians , we can relate to the Gandhian Movement for independence , where the whole country was galvanised for Swaraj even though they might have been from different states, cultures and backgrounds. But this consensus would not have been possible without a bold leader and that’s exactly what the UNFCCC needs.

The question then boils down to who will take the leadership and who have the potential to make a breakthrough to break the political deadlock or carve the pathway to cancun? In a situation where the US legislations have not come into force and there is a large uncertainty looming around the implementation of its commitment under the Copenhagen Accord I strongly feel the onus lies in the hands of the BASIC to move these negotiations forward . Don’t get me wrong, I am not excusing US from its very obvious responsibility but having China as host to the meeting couldn’t have come at a better time! It’s time for the BASIC to show that they can lead and are definitely already on the path towards a low carbon future.

H – HOPE

Hope for higher ambition

Hope for finance on the table

And hope for some strong building blocks to deliver a decision

Hope that the low carbon economy group set up in India delivers the report which actually gets implemented

Hope that the satellite launched by the ministry of environment and forests to monitor forest cover actually works by 2013

Hope that the national action plans on climate change don’t stick on just the paper

Hope that India has a new line in the plenary tomorrow that I have never heard before.

Hope that people across the world realise that it doesn’t end with the UN and they can do their bit

Hope that the developed world realises that India and China are taking strong steps , and those too in the right direction.

And last but not the least hope for more negotiators to arrive in China from the Indian Delegation, especially the ones that don’t sleep in the plenary!

I – IDEOLOGY

I think it matters where you are from, simply because your parents society or culture shape you and instils core principles. Chinese culture and that in southern parts of India is highly simple, minimalist and down to earth. We like to reuse, resell and don’t go out shopping as often as our western counterparts.

The Ideology of the negotiations also needs some fresh perspective , a fresh insight or maybe a different approach all together otherwise all we will be doing for the next decade would be going around in circles with MRV , and transparency and CBDR and all the jargon. To avoid the big cloud of jargon and useless diplomacy maybe the negotiators should go for a nice 1 hour Hong Kong massage, relax, think it over and come up with some new strategy to deal with the problem because the rest of the world is doing it bit and it is about time the negotiations succeeded too.

N- NI HAO

Chinese language is beautiful and absolutely incomprehensible for the tourist in town. All thanks to the Chinese tracker we can still communicate but I did get along with some of the locals in the taxi to the hotel . My first experience was talking to Yuang who was the first female taxi driver I had met in my life. She had no idea of any alphabets and we somehow made it to the hotel. She talked to me in Chinese nevertheless and apparently from what I could make of it was showing me the major sights on the way to the hotel including the radio tower , the museum and the Tianjin eye from the distance. It’s amazing how we take for granted the most powerful tool we have – our brains which think of most innovative means of communication. China being the host of the meetings this year gives it a chance to showcase that it is taking action . I was very proud to see on my bus ride in the city that the flyovers are lighted by solar panel driven lights and indicators. China is serious about making a shift , not for one flyover but in mass scale and this was really important for countries like US to know who have come with supposedly empty hands to this conference.

A- AFFORDABILITY

Sometimes one loses the power to value things in life. After spending a bomb on lunch at the Intertech Hotel which wasn’t that good either, I just tried to console myself by reminding myself of the great conversations over food and the love of friends and colleagues who are always there for you no matter what size or country you are from. Nevertheless I skipped dinner and picked up some kiwi fruit from the market instead and enjoyed a nice late night with my over sensitive netbook which loves to restart or not sometimes.

Looking forward to an exciting , challenging and jam-packed week at the UNFCCC!

Tags: 2010, basic, Cancún, China, chinese, composition, consensus, flights, hope, ideology, India, picture, travel, UNFCCC, visa