Why in news?

Countries Across the world are gearing up for the 26th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be convened in November, 2021 at Glasgow. The COP was originally scheduled to be held last year but, like several other international conferences, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The forthcoming COP will be important because this will be the first occasion after the Paris Climate agreement concluded in 2015 that countries will be expected to “ratchet up” the nationally determined commitments they made as part of that agreement.

Why did the US leave the Paris agreement under Trump administration?

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump had described the Paris Agreement as “unfair” to US interests, and had promised to pull out of the agreement if elected. Trump had also sought to portray that election as a referendum on the policies of former President Obama, who had played a pivotal role in stitching together the complex and far-reaching agreement.

So in June 2017, months after his inauguration, Trump announced his government’s decision to quit the accord. Environmentalists fiercely criticised the move, saying that America’s exit would seriously jeopardise the agreement’s objective of keeping the global temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times, especially since the US was (and still is) the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

When was the Paris Agreement signed?

In December 2015, 195 countries signed an agreement to slow the process of global warming by making efforts to “hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.

This basically means that the countries would try to limit the increase in global temperature rise. While poor countries and island states had requested a lower goal considering threats of droughts and sea-level rise, climate experts have said maintaining a 2 degrees increase will be a challenge in itself. The agreement came into force on November 4, 2016.

Another crucial point in this agreement was the decision to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities to a level that can be naturally absorbed by trees, soils and oceans. Nations have pledged “to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century”.

Developed countries were also told to provide financial resources to help developing countries in dealing with climate change and for adaptation measures. As part of a review mechanism, developed countries were also asked to communicate every two years the “indicative” amount of money they would be able to raise over the next two years, and information on how much of it would come from public financial sources. In contrast, developing countries have only been “encouraged” to provide such information every two years on a voluntary basis.

A key feature of the Paris Agreement has been the way the agreement reflects the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ (CBDR), which has been invoked four times in the CBDR principle. Emerging nations stressed on the developed world to take greater responsibility for climate actions since they are largely responsible for emitting almost all of the greenhouse gases from about 1850 to the 1980s.

The agreement also includes a mechanism to address financial losses faced by less developed nations due to climate change impacts like droughts, floods etc. However, developed nations won’t face financial claims since it “does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation”.

Where India see itself in achieving the INDC in comparison to US and China?

India’s emissions intensity targets are similar to that of China’s. India has pledged to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030, below 2005 levels. China has pledged to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 60-65 per cent during the same period. In 2030, both the countries will have almost same emissions intensity levels – 0.12 million tonnes of CO2 per billion USD (in 2005 USD). This means that both these countries will emit about 120,000 tonnes of CO2 for every 1 billion USD of GDP.

India’s pledge to install 40 per cent of its total electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources is more ambitious than even that of the United States. In 2030, even under the most ambitious Clean Power Plan of US President Barack Obama, the US will only have about 30 per cent of its electricity capacity on non-fossils.

CSE’s projections show that in 2030, India will have about 250-300 GW of solar and wind energy capacity. Under the Clean Power Plan, the US will reach 275 GW solar and wind capacity by 2030. China has pledged 300 GW solar and wind power by 2030.

India’s forestry target is also very ambitious. It intends to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2through additional forests by 2030. In comparison, China will increase the forest stock volume by around 4.5 billion cubic meters by 2030. This translates into an additional carbon sink of about 5 billion tonnes of CO2. Considering that China has three times more land area than India, India’s goal seems very ambitious.

CSE’s projections shows that in 2030 India’s total emissions could reach about 4.5-5.0 billion tonnes. Its per capita emissions would be about 3.5 tonnes. In comparison, the per capita emissions of the US and China are projected to be around 12 tonnes.

Who have announced more ambitious targets for Climate control ?

The European Union (EU), the UK, Japan and South Korea have announced more ambitious targets. The EU and the UK have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions by 55 per cent in 2030 with 2000 as the base year. They have also pledged to achieve “carbon neutrality” or zero carbon emissions by 2050. The US has rejoined the Paris Agreement. It is expected to announce a carbon neutrality commitment for 2050. China has announced that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and this has been welcomed by other major economies.

How India is trying to achieve the targets set by the climate deal?

India has tried to balance its carbon emissions with its economic growth objectives by not setting an outright pollution reduction goal. But, being a part of the global climate change regime, India will have significant obligations to meet under the treaty. The country will have to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from its 2005 levels. This has to be achieved by 2030.

A key result area for India will come in the form of the reduction of emission intensity targets, which basically is the volume of emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). The country will have to diversify its power generation sources and shift them significantly towards renewable energy sources to reduce volumes of emissions per unit of GDP. In numbers, by 2025, India will need a 175 gigawatt-power production capacity from non-fossil fuel sources.

Yet another commitment under the treaty requires India to increase its forest cover by five million hectares along with an improvement in the quality of green cover of an equal measure. It is expected that increased forest coverage will help India absorb massive carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

The significance of New Delhi’s support to the climate pact lies in the fact that India accounts for over 4% of global emissions and is crucial for crossing the threshold mark of 55%. The world’s top two polluters—the US and China —that together account for 40% of global carbon emissions, have already ratified the document.

India has pledged to improve the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 below 2005 levels. It has also pledged to increase the share of non-fossil fuels-based electricity to 40 per cent by 2030. It has agreed to enhance its forest cover which will absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2, the main gas responsible for global warming) by 2030.

India has accepted the huge impact that climate change is exerting and will exert on different sectors of its economy and has agreed to enhance investments to adapt in vulnerable sectors like agriculture, water resources, coastal regions, health and disaster management.

India has also reiterated its need for international finance and technology support to meet its climate goals. In this regard, it has said it would require at least US $ 2.5 trillion (at 2014-15 prices) to meet its climate change actions between now and 2030.