About Manu Mathai: Manu V. Mathai is a faculty member at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He researches and teaches about the intersection of energy, environment and human development policy questions, with a focus on technology choice and norms of human well-being and economic development amenable to greater fairness on a shared and finite planet.
Abstract: Many Asian societies are central to the future of a successful global climate governance regime. Not least because of their size and rapidly growing economies, environmental governance in countries such as India and Indonesia will continue to qualitatively shape global climate. But simultaneously, and unlike the OECD economies, the dominant (not exclusive) reality in much of Asia is already that of societies living with low and sustainable carbon footprints. The challenge then should be less about transitioning to a “low-carbon society” but instead should ask about building an enabling context for existing low-carbon realities to provide greater well-being and dignity for their citizens. This reasoning reorients the climate governance problematic. The existing suite of tools and technological means that populate climate governance prioritize instrumentalities such as technology transfer, carbon intensity improvements and carbon markets. Such a prioritization appears misplaced in the context of rapidly changing countries in Asia that still have widespread low-carbon realities. Not to mention that the success of the transitions approach has also been limited in Annex-1 countries. In place of prioritizing “transitions” to low-carbon societies, this talk explores the argument and elements for building an enabling context for the “creative continuity” of existing low-carbon realities while achieving gains in human well-being and dignity. A point of departure for this proposal is insights from development studies, such as the vocabulary of the human development and capability approach, to inform climate governance.