On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India will reach net-zero carbon emission by 2070, thus making some ambitious pledges at the Glasgow Climate Summit. In the Summit, Prime Minister Modi has also outlined “Panchamrit”, or the five-point plan, in order to fight against the tragic effects of climate change and global warming.
Now the ‘Net zero’ emission is actually a scenario where the amount of gas produced by the greenhouse will be the same as the amount of gas that will be removed from the atmosphere. This can be done by taking up some strategies, such as planting as many trees as possible and deploying advanced technology in order to capture and control carbon dioxide. While on the other hand, the US and EU have the aim to reach net-zero emission by 2050, and China has aimed to do so by 2060.
PM Modi also affirmed the nation’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes and a net 45% carbon reduction among the five-point plan. While talking on the energy front, the PM said that the yearly goals have been set, in order to increase the non-fossil fuel generation to 500 Gigawatts by 2030. By the same year, another goal to be completed is to fulfill 50% of its energy requirement through renewable energy.
“India will bring its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Second, by 2030 India will fulfill 50% of its energy requirement through renewable energy. Third, India will cut down its net projected carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes from now until 2030. Fourth, by 2030 India will bring down the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45%. Fifth, by 2070 India will achieve the target of ‘net zero’,” PM Modi announced.
So, Panchamrit’ presented by PM Modi at the climate summit are:
- India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
- India will meet 50 percent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
- India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030.
- By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45 percent.
- By 2070, India will achieve the target of net-zero emissions.
COP26 is vital for the continued viability of the Paris Agreement, which many countries signed in 2015, thus promising to limit global temperature rises to “well below” two degrees Celcius and to work for a safer 1.5 cap. Due to the Industrial Revolution, with a little over 1C of warming, Earth is being battered by ever more extreme heatwaves, flooding, and tropical storms which are supercharged by rising seas.
PM Modi said in his speech that India is the only country that is capable of delivering in “letter and spirit” the commitments on tackling climate change under the Paris Agreement. He also said at the summit that India is working very hard on tackling climate change-related issues.
Talking about the lifestyle changes, PM Modi said that environmentally conscious lifestyle choices could be considered as the best choice to tackle climate change, and he also urged to make ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ a global mission. The Prime Minister said that developed nations should fulfill the promised $1 trillion as climate finance, and further said that this should be tracked the same way as climate mitigation. He said, “India expects developed countries to make $1 trillion available as climate finance as soon as possible. As we track the progress of climate mitigation, we must also track climate finance. Justice would truly be served if pressure is put on those countries that have not lived up to their climate finance commitments.”
