Proposals of the European Union regarding aviation, climate aid, and the history of carbon dioxide emissions are going to be the hot topics that are set to create a big divide during the UN Climate Summit to be held in Durban, South Africa beginning on 28 November this year to 9 December.

India has made an argument that the proposal of EU to push forward their international flights as a part of the emissions trading scheme is going to go against the UN Climate Convention.

On the other hand, technical evaluation for a number of developing countries has revealed that developed countries in the West have an obligation to absorb carbon dioxide in the next few decades to come. The evaluation also showed that the developed countries are not doing their part of the deal in terms of climate finance.

The group called BASIC – Brazil, South Africa, India and China – have made an agreement in a meeting in Beijing last week. They have agreed that the unilateral measures concerning climate change, including emissions from international aviation that are a part of the emission trading scheme, are going to violate the principles and provisions of the UN Climate Convention and will put all the work of the international community in jeopardy.

BASIC has given an analysis showing that industrialized nations in the West bear big responsibility in the climate changes in the world due to the large amounts of fossil fuel burning. The group asserts that these Western nations should be net absorbers of carbon dioxide rather than net emitters, which is more harmful in a bigger scale. Experts working with BASIC are suggesting that a fair and equitable form of compromise is that the developed world should be able to absorb 239 to 474 billion tons of carbon dioxide, while developing nations will still carry on with their usual emission levels.

EU nations are not keen on taking a step back on this matter. Starting January 2012, airlines that are based in EU airports are going to be included in the carbon pricing scheme. The arguments that are presented by India are now going to set an intractable conflict in the discussions on climate negotiations in Durban.