Question : Glasgow Summit

(a) whether many other nations of the world and International Monetary Fund/UNO have welcomed the call of the Prime Minister in Glasgow, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether environmental experts were consulted before the target was announced in Glasgow;
(c) basis on which Green House Gas (GHG) reduction commitments have been firmed up by the Government and to what extent the involvement of States and private industry has been assured;
(d) details of Nationally Determined Contributions for emission reductions along with targets for various stakeholders in Government and Private Sector;
(e) whether India demanded that developed countries must take measures for net-zero emissions by the end of this decade, if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the developed countries;
(f) the stand of India on the Green Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) strategy and whether it would be consistent with Nationally Determined Contributions of individual countries; and
(g) whether differentiation of Green House Gases (GHGs) mitigation policies among the developed and developing countries highlighted in various forums and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) Many nations in the world, multilateral institutions, experts, think tanks, and global media, among others, haveapplauded the five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of India’s climate action presented by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to the global community at the 26th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held at Glasgow in November 2021.

(b): Yes, environmental experts were consulted before India’s participation in COP 26.

(c): India’s vision to intensify its efforts to address the challenge of climate change,as presented throughthe announcements of India’s climate action, has been carefully considered after taking in to account the principles of equity and ofcommon but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. The five announcements are not bound to any sector specific mitigation obligation or action. India’s goal is to reduce overall emission intensity andimprove energy efficiency of its economy over time, while at the same time protecting thevulnerable sectors of economy and segments of our society. To achieve India’s contributions to global climate action, the Government is determined to continue with its on-goinginterventions, and enhance the existing policies, schemes and programmes, wherever required.

(d): India has ratified the Paris Agreement and submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) comprising of eight contributions for 2021-2030. The three quantitative targets are: (i) to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level, (ii) to achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance, (iii) to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. The other targets pertain to sustainable lifestyles; climate friendly growth path; climate change adaptation; mobilisation of climate change finance; capacity building and technology. India’s NDC do not bind it to any sector specific mitigation obligation or action, including the private sector.

(e) & (g): At COP 26, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India articulated the concerns of developing countries and called for climate justice and climate friendly lifestyles to safeguard future generations and the Planet from the adverse impacts of climate change. He also emphasized that India’s historical cumulative emissions and per capita emissions are very low despite being home to more than 17% of the global population.

As a part of its overall approach, India always emphasizes on the foundational principles of equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. It also highlights that all countries should have equitable access to the global carbon budget, a finite global resource, for keeping temperature increase within the limits set by the Paris Agreement, and must stay within their fair share of this global carbon budget, while using it responsibly. India has persistently called for climate justice. It has also called on the developed countries to undertake rapid reductions in emissions during the current decade and reach net zero much earlier than their announced dates, as they have used more than their fair share of the depleting global carbon budget.

(f) The NDCsubmitted under the Paris Agreement express efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change whereas theGreen Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) is an approach suggested by the World Bank Group to developing countries for addressing the challenges due to COVID 19 pandemic and the climate change. The Government has launched many schemes and programs to scale up India’s climate action on both the adaptation and mitigation. As a result of these measures, India has progressively continued decoupling of economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. In exercise of their right to sovereignty,countries are free to decide upon the relevance of GRID to their respective NDCs.

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