India is yet to submit any new or updated climate action plan to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases, according to a new report ‘Keeping 1.5°C alive: The G20+ gap to close this year’.
Penned by authors at the World Resources Institute, an independent climate change think tank E3G, and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), the report concentrates on how major economies are failing to provide renewed emission pledges. Tom Evans, policy advisor on climate diplomacy based in London at E3G, said that G20 nations have so far failed to make new enhanced emission reduction commitments to keep the world on track for meeting the United Nations’ 1.5°C global warming target this year. It said that none of the G20 nations have submitted revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and nor have the hosts of the global climate summit COP27, Egypt, and the presidency of COP28 in 2023, the UAE. The significant economies in the group have a major role in keeping the world on track to limit warming to 1.5°C, reliable as they are for about 75% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. India, in particular, can include the bold pledges made at COP26 to produce half their energy from renewables by 2030 and hit net zero by 2070, the study said. Experts said coming forward with a clear and ambitious 2030 climate goal is essential for India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the man of the moment at COP26, with his promises to scale up green energy and speed up emissions cuts. The six months since Glasgow have been a painful reminder of why India requires to adhere to these commitments. With more renewables and less coal, India would have a more resilient, diverse, and secure energy system and a less polluting one that can assist avoid coming devastating heat waves. Emphasising that G20 nations need to dedicate themselves to doing enough, Gareth Redmond-King, international lead at ECIU, said that as a country whose people are on the frontline of climate impacts, and as the source of about 7% of global emissions each year, India took a leading place in Glasgow at COP26 with a commitment to net-zero by 2070. With financial aid from the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and others, Modi can create on that now by offering India’s formal emissions promise in the next few months, ahead of COP27 in Egypt. That would put India in a powerful leadership post as it takes up the chair of the G20 the following year. Image Source
