The COP26 summit at Glasgow saw India set new emissions targets for 2030 and even set a zero-emission target for 2070. The Prime Minister announced five such announcements and like every time came up with a catchphrase for it — Panchamrit. Here's what he said and what it means for us Indians:
What did PM Modi announce?
1) The Prime Minister said that India is setting a goal of reducing its emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030.
2) India, for the first time, set a zero-emission target for 2070. We were the largest emitter and the only G20 country without a zero-emissions target prior to this.
3) India has a new target of achieving 500GW capacity of installed renewable energy by 2030.
4) PM Modi also said that India will aim to fulfil its energy needs with non-fossil fuel energy by 2030.
5) He also added that India's emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2005.
Where do we stand?
India has had a minimal shift to renewable energy. On the other hand, our emissions are still on the rise with an increment of 4 to 5 per cent each year. So by 2030, the emissions would be around 40 billion tonnes. The announcement of a reduction of one billion tonnes is from that level. What remains is also a lot.
How did Modi take on the developed countries?
Talking about the developed countries' failure to deliver on the promise to mobilise USD 100 billion by 2020, Modi said that this amount was not enough to start with. “We all know that all the promises made on climate finance have proved hollow. When we are all increasing our ambition on climate actions, then the ambition on climate finance cannot remain the same that it was at the time of the Paris Agreement,” he said and added that the Paris Agreement was a sentiment to him, a commitment.
