Scaling up India’s ambitious agenda to combat climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced five steps, “amrit tatva” at the COP26 Summit including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070.
Delivering the National Statement at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, he said India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50% of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030. He also said that India would make one-billion-tonne reduction in total projected carbon emissions and reduce carbon intensity in its economy to less than 45% by 2030.
“In the midst of this brainstorming on climate change, I would like to present five ‘Amrit tatva’ on behalf of India,” he said. PM Modi described them as “panchamrit ki saugat”.
“India will take its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Second, India will meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030. Third, India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030. Fourth, by 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45%. And fifth—by 2070, India will achieve the target of net-zero emissions,” he said.
Highlighting India’s efforts to combat climate change, the Prime Minister said that India is the only major economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitments both in letter and spirit.
Speaking in Hindi at the COP26 Global Leaders’ Summit here in Glasgow the Prime Minister said, “Today,
the world has acknowledged that India is the only such biggest economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitment in letter and spirit. Karambaddh (duty bound) India is bringing results by making all-out efforts.” Paris Agreement goal constitutes an effort to keep the global average temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
“I am pleased to announce that in a developing country like India with a population of 125 crores, constituting 17% of the global population and India’s contribution to the emission has only been 5%. India has left no stone unturned in completing its duty,” he added.
Recalling the Paris climate conference, he said that summit was a sentiment and commitment for him.
“I came to Paris with a concern for the sake of humanity. I came as a representative of that society that believes in ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (Let all be happy, let all be free from debilitation),” he said.
The Prime Minister also laid emphasis on “Lifestyle For Environment” in his speech. “I am keeping proposal of One-Word Movement. This One-Word is one word in the context of climate, ‘one-word’ can become the basic foundation of the world, it can become the resolve. This is a word- LIFE…L, I, F, E, i.e. Lifestyle For Environment,” the Prime Minister said.
He called for collective participation and said “Lifestyle For Environment” should become a movement.
“This environmental consciousness can become a mass movement,” he said.
PM Modi spoke against “mindless and destructive consumption” and said the movement can attain gaols in diverse areas.
“Today is the need to focus on mindful and deliberate utilisation instead of mindless and destructive consumption. This movement, with a unified approach, can attain goals in diverse areas like fishing, agriculture, wellness, dietary choices, housing, packaging, hospitality, tourism, clothing, fashion, water management and the field of energy. It can bring revolutionary changes,” PM Modi said.
“These are the issues which need the conscious choice of everyone, every day. The conscious choice by millions, billions of people will help in billion steps for combating climate change. I believe that this movement will stand every test,” said the Prime Minister.
He cited the example of the International Solar Alliance as a reflection of India’s persistent efforts to combat climate change.
“As a revolutionary step in solar power, we initiated the International Solar Alliance. We have created a coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure for climate adaptation. This is a sensitive and important initiative to save crores of lives,” PM Modi said.
He also said, “More passengers than the entire population of the world travel by Indian Railways every year. This huge railway system has set itself a target of making itself ‘Net Zero’ by 2030. This initiative alone will reduce emissions by 60 million tonnes per annum.”
Also on Monday, PM Modi said adaptation has received less attention compared to mitigation in the global climate debate and emphasised resilience against climate change.
Addressing a COP26 side event on “Action and Solidarity: The Critical Decade” convened by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, PM Modi referred to the adverse impact of climate change including change in cropping patterns and the increasing frequency of floods. “When compared with mitigation, adaptation has received less attention in the global climate debate. The developing countries are facing injustice as they are most affected by climate change,” he said.
“Climate change is a big challenge for farmers in India and other developing nations. There is a change in the cropping pattern. Corps is getting destroyed by rains, floods and other natural phenomena,” he added. Prime Minister Modi said the world would have to make adaptation the main part of development policies and schemes.
“In India, schemes like ‘Nal Se Jal’, Clean India Mission and Ujjwala have not only given adaptation benefits to our citizens but also improved their quality of life,” PM Modi said.
He noted that many traditional communities have knowledge of living in harmony with nature. “To make sure that this knowledge flows to next generations, it should be added to school syllabus. Protection of lifestyle suitable to local conditions can also be an important part of adaptation,” he said.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi met UK PM Boris Johnson on the sidelines of COP26. The two leaders discussed regional and global challenges including Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, Indo-Pacific, supply chain resilience and post-Covid global economic recovery here on Monday. The two leaders held talks on the sidelines of the COP26 Summit. During the bilateral talks, Prime Minister Modi congratulated PM Johnson for successfully organising the COP26 and for his personal leadership in championing global action for climate change mitigation and adaptation, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.
PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett had their first in-person meeting on Monday since the latter took office, on the sidelines of the ongoing COP26 Summit.
Also on Monday, PM Modi met United Nations General Asembly’s President Abdulla Shahid.
More than 120 heads of states and governments have reached Glasgow for a two-day summit at the start of the UN’s COP26 conference, which organisers say is crucial for charting humanity’s path away from catastrophic global warming.