India’s Climate Action Plan ambitious, progressive: Javadekar

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.

The country’s current policy framework also includes a favorable environment for a rapid increase in renewable energy, move towards low carbon sustainable development and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

India also said that it would achieve 40 per cent installed capacity for electric power from non-fossil fuel resources by 2030, which would be a jump of 33 per cent from the present capacity.

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts on environment sustainability, the Union government on Friday unveiled its climate action plan for 2021-2030 setting new targets to reduce green house gas emissions and laying out a roadmap to tackle climate change.

“This is a positive and novel Indian approach”, Saran said, adding that India was effectively sharing responsibility for taking action to protect the climate while seeking global partnerships on implementing those plans.

Still, a few environmental advocates praised the plan’s commitment to renewable energy and said that, if enacted, it could put India on track to reduced carbon emissions in the long run.

“We are confident we will achieve the 35% [target] by 2030″, Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told a news conference in Delhi on Friday.

The INDCs or pledges to cut down on emissions was submitted by India to the United Nations on Thursday evening come nearer the expectations but not near China’s level.

A total of 146 countries, representing nearly 87 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, have submitted their intended national climate action plans to the United Nations. Following many rounds of discussions over a couple of decades, the emphasis is on emissions reduction as the primary response to climate change.

India and China and other major developing countries will have to hold fast to their positions and resist all attempts and pressures to split the poor and developing countries’ bloc.

Javadekar said India has pledged for eight major goals, including a target of generating 40 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

“A preliminary estimate suggests that at least $US2.5 trillion… will be required for meeting India’s climate change actions between now and 2030”. “It is important this reality is discussed and resolved in the Paris climate conference”.

The document says India would undertake the emission intensity reduction and the changing of energy mix by 2030, “being sanguine about the unencumbered availability of clean technologies and financial resource from around the world”.

“India is committed to engaging actively in multilateral negotiations under the UNFCCC in a positive, creative and forward-looking manner”, the country said.

“India’s continued commitment to expand coal power capacity is baffling”, said Pujarini Sen, a senior Greenpeace India campaigner.