India submits its new climate action pledges to the UN body, flags the conditions to fulfill its promise | India News

India in its submission has pledged to achieve 60% of its incremental installed capacity of electricity from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources by 2035 “with the help of technology transfer and low-cost international financing”; Reduce emissions intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) by 47% by 2035 from 2005 levels; and create a carbon sink of 3.5 to 4.0 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent by 2005 by 2035 through forests and tree cover.Apart from these three quantitative targets, India made five other points in its submission on April 24 which include new and additional financing from developed countries for domestic consolidation efforts and implementation of adaptation and mitigation actions; promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle; construction capacity; aligning with the dream of a ‘Bikisit Bharat’ (developed India) by 2047; and better adapt to climate change by increasing investment in development programs in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, the Himalayan region, coastal areas, health and disaster management.Flagging the conditions for meeting climate commitments, India said in its submission, “A significant portion of developing countries’ NDCs is conditioned on adequate means of implementation, particularly finance, technology transfer and capacity building.“Without adequate funding, technology cooperation and capacity-building, these conditional commitments cannot be met, resulting in an ambition gap that undermines the collective objectives of the Paris Agreement.”India has also clarified in its document that the country’s NDC does not commit the country to any specific emission reduction obligations for individual sectors, including agriculture. “The objective is to reduce the overall emissions intensity of its economy by, inter alia, promoting the deployment of clean energy and improved energy efficiency, while protecting vulnerable sectors and communities,” it said.India wanted to remind rich countries of their obligations, saying developed countries, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement, are obliged to provide finance, technology and capacity-building support to combat climate change.“India, in turn, will need its fair share of these resources and support to advance its climate goals. Effective implementation of India’s NDC depends on the provision of additional support such as financial resources, technology transfer and capacity-building by developed countries in accordance with the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement,” the document said.Countries’ NDCs are non-binding, voluntary climate action commitments submitted every five years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. India submitted its first NDC in 2015 with targets for 2030 which were later updated to 2022.Both times India flagged the necessary conditions, reminding the UN body of its commitment to support developing countries, including India, to implement their climate action goals. The country has, however, fulfilled some of its commitments and is on track to fulfill the rest with domestic financing.As of 28 February, India’s non-fossil fuel based electric power installed capacity is over 52.5% of total installed capacity while its emissions intensity of GDP has decreased by 36% between 2005 and 2020.“India is on track to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 through forest and tree cover. Between 2005 and 2021, an additional carbon sink equivalent to 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2 has been created,” India said in its submission.Underlining the country’s priorities, the document said, “India aims to meet its ambitious goals of universal access to services such as water, sanitation, waste management, affordable housing, electric power, in line with the short and medium horizon goals set by the government’s current initiatives, including meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.”