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India will achieve net zero emissions by 2070:

GS Paper 3:

 

Context:

In an effort to battle climate change, PM Modi has made the following announcements at the ongoing COP26 summit in Glasgow:

  1. India will achieve net zero emissions latest by 2070.
  2. By 2030, India will ensure 50% of its energy will be sourced from renewable sources.
  3. India will also reduce its carbon emissions until 2030 by a billion tonnes.
  4. It will also reduce its emissions intensity per unit of GDP by less than 45%.
  5. India would also install systems to generate 500 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2030, a 50 GW increase from its existing target.

 

What needs to be done ahead?- Suggestions by India:

  1. In the spirit of climate justice, rich developed countries ought to be providing at least $1 trillion in climate finance to assist developing countries and those most vulnerable.
  2. Principles of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and, recognition of the very different national circumstances of countries be respected.
  3. Sustainable modes of living being practised in certain traditional communities ought to be made part of school curricula.
  4. The lessons from India’s efforts at adaptation in programmes such as Jal Jeevan mission, Swach Bharat mission and mission ujwala ought to be popularized globally.
  5. Focus should be on climate adaptation as much as mitigation.

current affairs

 

Which countries have announced net-zero targets?

  1. In 2019, the New Zealand government passed the Zero Carbon Act, which committed the country to zero carbon emissions by 2050.
  2. The UK’s parliament passed legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100 per cent.
  3. US president Joe Biden announced that the country will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
  4. World War Zero was launched in 2019 to bring together unlikely allies on climate change and with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions in the country by 2050.
  5. The European Union plan “Fit for 55”, the European Commission has asked all of its 27 member countries to cut emissions by 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
  6. China announced that it would become net-zero by the year 2060 and that it would not allow its emissions to peak beyond what they are in 2030.

 

What does net-zero mean?

Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero. That would be gross-zero, which means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all, a scenario hard to comprehend.

  • Basically, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

 

Insta Curious:

Know what Blue Carbon , Black Carbon and Brown Carbon is? Read Here

https://www.hmc.edu/hcsed/2017/10/19/black-carbon-brown-carbon-blue-carbon/

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About the Climate Leaders’ Summit.
  2. What is net-zero?
  3. Countries committed to net-zero.
  4. About Paris Agreement.

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of carbon sinks.

Sources: the Hindu.