India has pledged to become a net-zero country by 2070 as part of its efforts to combat climate change.
To achieve this ambitious goal in a realistic and phased manner, India is taking steps to cut down emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030.
India has a four-pronged energy strategy, which is integral to achieving these targets to mitigate global warming.
An important part of this strategy is energy transition through increasing the importance of a gas-based economy, green hydrogen projects, and encouraging the use of electric vehicles (EVs). Promoting the use of alternative energy sources is also critical to this effort.
These and several other similar initiatives were outlined by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom, two years ago.
India’s approach is that the environment is not just a global cause, but the personal responsibility of every individual. Therefore, India is advocating a paradigm shift in the internat
ional climate regime, complementing a country-centric approach to a people-centric approach to climate actions.
Imperative to such an approach is the coordination and calibration of policy responses from the bottom-most local levels to the national level, going up to the highest global plane.
India believes that a stronger commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and its allied multilateral agenda are fundamental to the global response.
Modi made five important commitments at COP26, which are now being vigorously implemented. These are steps to ensure that half of India’s energy use by 2030 will be from renewable resources, 500 additional gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil electricity capacity, an increase in forest cover-up to one-third of total land area, a reduction in carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030 and a final target of net zero by 2070. These pledges represent India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Although India in toto is the world’s third-
biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, its emissions per capita of only 1.9 tonnes (according to 2019 statistics) is one of the lowest among industrialised countries because of its huge population. If India is carbon neutral by 2070, it would make a huge difference to the global environment. It was in Glasgow that India set a net-zero target for the first time.
During the New Delhi Summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries in September 2023, India led an initiative to create an alliance of governments, international organisations, and industry to facilitate the adoption and use of biofuels.
Bringing together the biggest consumers and producers of biofuels to drive the development and deployment of such fuels, the initiative aims to position biofuels as a key to energy transition and at the same time contribute to jobs and economic growth.
As a result, the setting up of a Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) was announced by Modi on 10th September on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
Brazil, India, and the United
States, which together contribute about 85 percent share in the production of ethanol and about 81 percent of its consumption are the founding members of the GBA. However, 19 countries and 12 international organisations agreed to join this Alliance at the G20 Summit.
India’s ongoing low-carbon development strategy rests on seven pillars. These are low-carbon development of electricity systems consistent with development; developing an integrated, efficient, inclusive low-carbon transport system; promoting adaptation in urban design, energy and material-efficiency in buildings, and sustainable urbanisation; promoting economy-wide decoupling of growth from emissions and development of an efficient, innovative low-emission industrial system; CO2 removal and related engineering solutions; enhancing forest and vegetation cover consistent with socio-economic and ecological considerations, and economic and financial requirements for low-carbon development.
Reviewing progress towards these goals India’s Minister of
State for Science, Technology and Atomic Energy, Dr. Jitendra Singh, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of a climate event in New Delhi, ‘India has remained steadfast in its transition towards clean energy, achieving the fastest pace of renewable capacity addition amongst all major economies and ambitious transition goals articulated by Prime Minister Modi at COP26.’
He said India ‘stands at the forefront of addressing the global challenge of climate change and has committed to an ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions against the levels of year 2005.’
India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said, ‘The world’s quest for cleaner and greener energy has gained a historic momentum’ with the creation of the GBA.
India has been trying to mobilise global attention on an ongoing crisis of what it calls the ‘three Fs’ in many parts of the world. The crisis of 3Fs stands for ‘Food, Fuel and Fertiliser.’ In addition to other factors, climate change has contributed t
o an unprecedented global crisis of the 3Fs.
India’s efforts to insulate itself from the 3Fs are made up of increased use of alternate energy sources like biofuels, ethanol, and compressed biogas, increasing exploration and production footprint along with meeting energy targets through electric vehicles and mobility through hydrogen.
Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)