Students plan India's strategy for Paris meet

When the Indian contingent debates climate change at a summit in Paris, a group of Bengaluru students will have something to be proud of.
Students and professors from National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, have drafted the crucial strategy document for the Indian government to present itself as an international negotiator. The inputs from the youngsters have also helped the government prepare the National Action Plan on Climate Change, that has already been submitted to the United Nations ahead of the December meet.
The convention will see the participation of government representatives from across the globe. The objective – to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate. The ultimate goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that the global temperature increase can be limited to 2 degree centigrade above pre-industrial levels.
Dr MK Ramesh, professor of law, chair professor (urban poor and the law), NLSIU, who spearheaded the task, said the challenge was to evolve a strategic blueprint for negotiating the new Climate Change Agreement, within the spirit of the principles (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, Equity). “We hope India can hold a strong position and set a goal for itself as well. We are awaiting response from the Centre on how they are going to accommodate our strategic document in the final set of records that will be presented in Paris,” he added.
He said it was a great idea to involve youngsters in the project. “We can’t reveal the suggestions and strategies till the meet gets over. However, we have come up with quite a few options for the country,” said another senior faculty.
NLSIU students Darshana Jain, Bhoomi ja Verma, Hafsa Bashir Bhat and Jinal Dadiya have worked on the ‘agreement’, as part of initial research. Anil Sebastian Pulickel and Mansi Sood were assigned the task of reaching an ‘agreed outcome with legal binding force’. Rhea Roy Mammen and Chiradeep Basak worked on the ‘protocol’.
One of the team members said they held a series of workshops with experts and conducted seminars before submitting the documents. “The challenge was to present the legal stand for India, a developing country. We held day-long discussions debating the pros and cons of a particular point,” said another student.
Sources in the environment ministry have appreciated the efforts. “The reports prepared by the law university will help present India’s stand. It’s the first time that an institute outside the government’s purview has been chosen to prepare the blueprint for talks on climate negotiations. It’s a welcome change,” said a senior official, working closely with the climate change negotiations.
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