Common property and India's stand

Common property belongs to a group (such as a village), and each member has both rights to use it and duties to care for it. A shared village forest or pasture is an example.

In India, a famous example is sacred groves: patches of forest protected by the community for religious reasons, known by local names like devrai, kavu or sarna. Because they are sacred, no one cuts them, and they have saved rare plants and animals for centuries.

But common property is shrinking, because of:

• privatisation of shared land;
• intensive farming;
• population growth;
• degradation of the land itself.

India's stand on climate change:

• India ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. Developing countries like India and China were exempted from its binding targets.
• India argues on two grounds. Historical responsibility: the rich countries put most of the greenhouse gases into the air over two centuries. Per capita emissions: an average Indian emits only a tiny fraction of what an average person in a rich country does. Even by 2030, India's per capita emissions are expected to stay below half the world average of 2000.
• So India opposes binding cuts being imposed on it while millions of its people still need development.

But India does act at home:

• the National Auto-fuel Policy (cleaner fuels for vehicles);
• the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 (using energy more efficiently);
• the Electricity Act, 2003 (encouraging renewable energy);
• natural gas, clean coal and solar and wind power.

India ratified the Paris Climate Agreement on 2 October 2016, Gandhi's birthday. Its position: fairness first, but act now.