India walks the talk; now implementation is key
India's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions for the climate change summit in Paris later this year are ambitious, but, given sustained effort at the Government level, also doable. They reflect the Modi Government’s commitment to fighting climate change and are proof of the regime’s more proactive approach towards the issue. In previous years, India's climate change narrative had focussed mostly on defending the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility, wherein all countries commit to reducing carbon emissions etc but do so keeping in mind their development imperatives. Expectedly, this has been a matter of much debate and acrimony. The developed countries of the West want the developing countries, the powerhouses of the future, to do a whole lot more towards reducing their carbon emissions and their dependency on fossil fuels. The developing countries, on the other side, put the ball back in the developed countries' court, arguing that it were the latter who messed up the planet with their dirty development models, and now it is unfair of them to ask the poor and emerging economies to rein in developmental activities. The Modi Government has stepped outside this debate: While still being rightly committed to the CBDR principle, it has taken the lead in drawing up a more sustainable path to development.
India's INDCs stand on three pillars: First, reducing per capital emissions; second, incorporating a larger share of renewable energy in its power basket; and third, increasing its forest cover. In the first case, it has pledged to improve the emissions density of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030, bringing it to below 2005 levels. If India is able to deliver on its pledges, it will be at par with China by 2030. In this same period, China has committed to reducing its emissions density by 60 to 65 per cent —a fair commitment given that the Asian giant is already more developed than India and should take greater action towards becoming a sustainable economy. In the second case, India has promised that by 2030, at least 40 per cent of all its power needs will be met from renewable sources of energy. Currently, less than 15 per cent comes from solar, wind and biomass put together. Expectedly, there are many who are sceptical about India achieving this target. But the Government is already investing a great deal of resources in this sector, particularly in solar energy, so there is reason to hope. Notably, if India is able to deliver, it will have done better than the US, which hopes to get only 30 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2030. As for the third factor, India has committed to increasing its forest cover so that, by 2030, it can absorb an additional 2.5 to three billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, the primary factor driving climate change. In comparison, China, which has three times more land than India, has promised to increase its carbon sink in the same time by just about five billion tonnes.