India’s leadership in the climate crisis battle

As PM Modi underlined at COP26, there is a need for “mindful and deliberate utilisation of environmental resources”.

At the recently concluded United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, global climate experts were most appreciative of India’s historic proclamations on measures to fight the climate crisis. These steps, if implemented in time, can eventually limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.

India’s ambitious targets at COP26 should be studied in the context of India’s consistent domestic push towards clean technologies (ANI)

Lord Nicholas Stern, a leading voice on climate action, said that India’s updated climate targets demonstrate real leadership, which is based on a track record of action and targets. These targets can deliver on both economic development and battling the climate crisis. He added that the rich world must respond to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s challenge to deliver a strong increase in international climate finance.

PM Modi won global accolades after he presented his five-point agenda or “panchamrit” while delivering the national statement at the conference. The first is to raise India’s non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Also, by 2030, 50% of the country’s power requirements will be met using renewable energy capacities. While reducing the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes between now and 2030, the carbon intensity of the economy will also be reduced to less than 45% by 2030 with India achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.

These targets assume a unique value, especially when it comes to climate justice. The UN Emission Gap Report 2020, which had evaluated India’s progress, concluded that India is well on its way to achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target with its current policies. As of September, Climate Action Tracker had assessed India to be the only G20 nation whose NDCs were compliant with the 2 degrees Celsius global warming target.

The United States (US), European Union, Russia, Canada, and Japan are responsible for 60% of cumulative carbon emissions between 1751 and 2017. Today, if one were to consider the 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario, only 14% of the carbon space is available for the entire world. In addition, the per capita emissions of developed countries are high.

Historically, the least developed and lower-middle-income countries recorded low per capita emissions, despite having large populations to sustain. Clearly, in the context of developing nations, their minuscule historical contribution to the global carbon space makes a compelling case for demanding a fair share of the remaining available carbon space and the right to develop.

India has used only 1.3% of the total carbon space (2 degrees Celsius warming scenario) and 1.8% of total carbon space (1.5 degrees Celsius warming scenario). If the global community accepts the principle of dividing the carbon space equitably across nations on a per capita emission basis, India’s share should be 17.5% of the total space.

In order to enhance transparency on carbon space utilisation, India launched the Climate Equity Monitor — the first such initiative by developing nations to track and monitor the utilisation of carbon space. India placed on record that BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) countries support strong, credible domestic mitigation actions by developed countries without undue reliance on cheap offsets to maintain their high-carbon, unsustainable lifestyles. India has also indicated that the updated NDCs are subject to the availability of $1 trillion in climate finance.

India’s ambitious targets at COP26 should be studied in the context of India’s consistent domestic push towards clean technologies. India is investing billions of dollars in electric vehicle subsidies, ethanol blending in gasoline, solar photovoltaic and battery manufacturing. While many nations are pursuing a twin pathway towards supporting both blue and green hydrogen, India is setting up an exclusively green and zero-carbon green hydrogen mission.

India has created meaningful partnerships to drive a coordinated scale-up of clean technologies. The US has now joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA), pioneered by India and France, becoming the 101st country to join the world’s most important future energy alliance. Under ISA, India and the United Kingdom (UK) signed the solar power initiative, One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) that envisions an interconnected transnational solar grid.

To date, steel and cement — which each represent around 7-8% of energy-related emissions globally — have remained out of reach in the endeavour to mitigate carbon emissions. A coalition of governments and organisations, led by the UK and India, launched the new Clean Energy Ministerial’s Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI). With steel and cement among the most carbon-intensive commodities on the planet today, over the next three years, the coalition wants at least 10 countries to commit to purchasing low-carbon versions of these essential materials. Technologies such as green hydrogen will play a critical role in deep decarbonisation. India, which is surrounded by countries that are most vulnerable to the climate crisis, has also led the formation of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Technologies such as green hydrogen, green metals, carbon capture, solid-state batteries, electric fuels, heat pumps, and next generation solar PV would be critical to reach global climate targets. India should invest in mainstreaming cutting-edge clean technologies to help the world transition from an era of climate promises to one of climate compliance. This will require a new kind of industrial revolution where countries like India can industrialise without the need to carbonise.

As PM Modi underlined at COP26, there is a need for “mindful and deliberate utilisation of environmental resources”. This clean industrialisation era should be complemented by a global shift in our way of life. This sustainable and equitable way of life should guide the world towards a global net-zero, before it is too late. Together, we can.

Amitabh Kant is CEO, NITI Aayog

The views expressed are personal