Climate change is nobody's baby

One of the decisions taken in the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) was the preparation of a biennial update report (BUR), which was to be submitted every two years.

- SOMIT DASGUPTA

In compliance with this, India submitted its fourth BUR (BUR 4) in December 2024, after the first three submissions in January 2016, December 2018, and February 2021. In addition to this, India has submitted three national communication (NC) reports (as mandated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992) in June 2004, April 2012, and December 2023. Both these reports—BUR and NC—are expected to provide an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the country in question along with the mitigation and adaptation measures initiated. The difference is that the NC is a comprehensive report that is submitted every four years whereas the BUR is a shorter, more frequent update of the progress, to be submitted every two years. An analogy which comes to one's mind is the difference between the erstwhile Five-Year plans and the annual plans which put into action the targets visualised in the Five-Year plans.