THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE AND THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE Raakhee Suryaprakash As 195 nations debate on how to tackle

climate change in Doha, lines are drawn between the developed and developing countries. The economic crisis has tightened the pockets of the developed North even as the developing South struggles to cope with basic developmental issues that hamper their commitment to climate change. This economic divide has the potential to derail the Doha conference and other such future summits. There is 30 billion dollars in the Climate Change kitty but the North-South could hamper implementation of a successful action plan to protect our environment. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon complimented China on its "smart investments and efforts" and said that "together with China, the other BASIC countries (India, Brazil and South Africa) can play an important role." United Kingdom has committed 1.8 billion Euros over the next two years to combat climate change. This 40 percent increase in its contribution is a great example to other industrialised nations to commit to global action towards a low-emission future where everyone has the chance of a sustainable life. Intellectual property rights and access to cutting edge technology that can change the course of the battle against climate change are the purview of the richer nations. With the economy in doldrums these nations are reluctant to pledge more funds and potentially profitable technology transfer to the Third World. The World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has proposed to launch a Momentum for Change: Innovative Financing for Climate-friendly Investment but the divide between the haves and the have-nots could get in its way. Ironically on the home front Jayanthi Natarajan the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests had to miss out on leading the Indian delegation with the Congress preoccupied with getting its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Bill through the parliament. So while India takes the international stance for equity to be central that is antiNorth at the Doha Conference domestically the tone is very pro-FDI and pro-North. Clogged storm drains and disappearing marshlands and swamps as a result of inefficient plastic recycling and disposal are hallmarks of the developing world. If India and other nations of the Third World Network (TWN) are to turn this threat into an opportunity then the way forward is upcycling. According to an article in the New Scientist, an Indian-American Vilas Ganpat Pol has developed a carrier-bag-to-nanotube technique that can literally turn waste plastic bags to nanotubes used in lithium-ion batteriesa real money-spinner when the economy is in as much of a pit as the environment. Such an enterprise would be a great boon to the urban poor as part of the Momentum for Change. It could be a future showcase of a successful public-private financing mechanism that supports climate change adaption and mitigation like the nine public-private Lighthouse Activities selected by an advisory panel coordinated by the UN Climate Change Secretariat. The Ahmedabad bus rapid transit system, which created an integrated and accessible public transport system is one such success story.

An example of the North-South divide in technology to combat climate change is the case of Swedens Waste to Energy (WtE) technology that has been making news. Swedens waste incinerators and recycling plants provide 20 percent of the countrys heating and electricity needs. This waste energy system allows only 4 percent of Swedens waste to reach its landfills. This Scandinavian country has run out of garbage! Something that will never happen in urban India or anywhere in the Third World! Sweden now gets paid to import garbage from Norway and is said to be sourcing more from Italy and Romania. This WtE technology in the hands of developing nations would be a tool to fight climate change as it will address not only the issue of overfull landfills and polluted marshlands but also provide a viable alternative to coal as the fuel of thermal power stations that are the mainstay of most developing nations power generation. Perhaps environmental and social entrepreneurs as well as government bodies can exploit this window of opportunity to generate power and employment while dealing with the plastic waste menace.