12 November 2022 – The Hindu

Nationally Determined Contribution of India

Context:

• According to a report presented at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, India’s new Nationally Determined Commitments (NDC) are robust on paper but won’t result in larger reductions in emissions than the country’s prior promise.

About NDCs:

• It is a concept proposed by a nation to advance its environmental goals. It was considered in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
• Each Party shall prepare, communicate, and maintain consecutive Nationally Determined Contributions that it expects to achieve in accordance with Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement. To further the goals of such contributions, the Parties must carry out domestic mitigating measures.
• Every five years, NDCs are submitted to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• After being ratified in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the UNFCCC entered into force in 1994. The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement is governed by the Convention, which has 197 Parties and almost universal membership.
• The main goal of the Convention is to “achieve, stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prohibit detrimental anthropogenic interaction with the climate system.”
• The criteria state that this goal must be accomplished by a certain date in order to “allow ecosystems to react naturally to climate change, to ensure that the food supply is not jeopardised, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.”
• India has made tremendous progress toward its objective of having net-zero emissions by 2070 with the most recent NDC update. The Indian Prime Minister unveiled the “Panchamrit,” or greater climate promises, at the UNFCCC CoP-26 (Glasgow, 2021), which included a pledge to attain net-zero (carbon) emission (NZE) by 2070.
• These include setting a goal for non-fossil fuels to account for around 50% of all installed electric power capacity by 2030 and increasing the GDP’s carbon intensity by 45% from 2005 levels by that same year.
• The goal of net zero emission is to balance greenhouse gas emissions into the climate (NZE). Any carbon emissions that have been released into the atmosphere as a result of various activities must be removed in order to stabilise the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases.
• In order to achieve the Paris Agreement target of keeping global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, more than 70 nations have committed to become Net Zero (reaching NZE) by the middle of the century.

Recent discoveries:

• In the 2022 report by Climate Action Tracker, it is said that India has not provided information regarding the 2070 Net Zero goal that was announced at COP26 last year (CAT). According to the Paris Agreement, global warming should be kept below 2°C, ideally below 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
• Renewable energy installations have advanced in India. The paper also covered the administration’s ambitions to raise coal production and increase natural gas output.
• This year, 10 of the NDCs that were updated by India and 27 other nations were examined by CAT. According to the research, only five nations, including India, have NDC targets that are more aggressive.
• A 2.4°C increase in global warming is predicted by the current 2030 targets. However, a few countries have revealed enforceable goals. From that, a 2°C warming might result.
• The CAT report also made a point of how little developed country climate financing is in comparison to what developing nations require to cut emissions. The review found that while contributions from the EU, Germany, Norway, and Switzerland were regarded acceptable, those from the US, Russia, and Australia were found to be substantially insufficient.

Maintaining NDCs with climate funding:

• Climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts get funding on a local, national, or international level from public, private, and alternative sources.
• Developed nations committed to raising $100 billion in climate funds in 2009 to aid underdeveloped nations in addressing climate change. This objective wasn’t achieved.
• The UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement all demand that parties with greater financial means (Developed Countries) support nations with less developed and fragile economies financially (Developing Countries).
• The idea of “Common but Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capabilities” is supported by this (CBDR).
• At COP26, new financial commitments were made to support developing countries in achieving the global goal of combating the effects of climate change. Funding for adaptation will be aided by new regulations for global carbon trading schemes that were established at COP26.
• A target of USD 100 billion yearly by 2020 was unanimously set by wealthy nation parties at the UNFCCC COP15 in 2009 to satisfy the demands of poor nations in order to achieve major mitigation measures and transparency in implementation (held in Copenhagen).
• At COP21 in Paris, the parties opted to prolong the $100 billion goals until 2025. Following COP26, developed nations decided to pool their funds for adaptation by raising it by 2025 from 2019 levels in order to strike a balance between adaptation and mitigation.
• Rich nations haven’t actually maintained their word on this.

Climate change financing initiatives in India:

National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC):

• It was established in 2015 to pay the costs of adaptation to climate change for Indian states and union territories that are most susceptible to its negative effects.

National Clean Energy Fund:

• Initially, the Fund was financed by a carbon tax on businesses that used coal. In order to improve renewable energy, it was founded. It is overseen by an interministerial body that reports to the secretary of finance. Its primary goal is to provide funding for cutting-edge clean energy research and development in the fossil and non-fossil fuel industries.

National Adaptation Fund:

• The fund was established in 2014 with a capitalization of Rs. 100 crores to address the financial shortfall. The fund is supervised by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

How to Continue:

• Developed countries must work with developing countries to support their transition to renewable energy sources and to get funding for infrastructure that is climate resilient. This will guarantee that the former reaches its goal of $100 billion.
• It’s also crucial to maintain your political resolve in order to raise additional money. ensuring that money is spent more wisely in order to reduce vulnerability and emissions

Conclusion:

• If India wants to attain net zero emissions by 2070, it must also adhere to its NDCs. Decarbonizing businesses including those in transportation, agriculture, and the dairy industry is necessary to achieve this. India must fulfil this difficult undertaking if it is to experience the “Panchamrit.”