Context-The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Shri Prakash Javadekar participated in the 29th ministerial meeting of the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) countries on Climate Change at Beijing, China on 25th-26th October 2019.

Key highlights 

• Environment ministers of the BASIC countries have called for “comprehensive” implementation of the Paris climate deal amid threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from it.
• The U.S. pullout will take effect next year, the day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, assuming that Trump is re-elected.
• The developed world has promised $100 billion per year till 2020,” he said, adding that only about $10 to 20 billion has been contributed so far.
• They “underlined the importance of a full, effective and sustained implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its Kyoto Protocol and its Paris Agreement, in accordance with the principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC),” 

Efforts by BASIC countries

• In 2018, China has reduced carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 45.8% from the 2005 level, increased the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to 14.3%.
• South Africa has recently implemented carbon tax, and announced massive renewable energy program in its latest electricity plan.
• India has already achieved 21 per cent reduction in emission intensity of GDP in 2014 compared to 2005 levels, thereby achieving its pre-2020 voluntary target.
• In 2015, Brazil had already achieved a 58% emission reduction in the business as usual scenario set for its NAMAs, thereby overachieving its target of 36%- 39% reductions set for 2020.

BASIC countries

• The BASIC group was formed as the result of an agreement signed by the four countries on November 28, 2009.
• They are a bloc of four large newly industrialized countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China.

Common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)

• It is a principle of international environmental law establishing that all states are responsible for addressing global environmental destruction yet not equally responsible.
• The principle balances, on the one hand, the need for all states to take responsibility for global environmental problems and, on the other hand, the need to recognize the wide differences in levels of economic development between states. These differences in turn are linked to the states’ contributions to, as well as their abilities to address, these problems.
• CBDR was formalized in international law at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.