India's pledge to reach 'Net Zero' carbon emissions by 2070 hailed by environment experts

India has announced a 'bold' pledge to achieve 'Net Zero' carbon emissions by 2070 at the Conference of Parties (COP26) Climate Summit in Glasgow. Hailing the promise as "real climate change," environment experts in India have also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for $1 trillion in climate finance from developed countries. "By announcing a commitment for achieving net-zero targets by 2070, India has responded positively to the global call and it was the best climate action in Glasgow today," said Aarti Khosla, Climate Trends Director, as per PTI.

In a 'transformative' step forward, PM Modi had also vowed to reduce industrial emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. Moreover, India's new target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of energy from non-fossil fuel sources was also said to be a "very significant" contribution to climate goals. "The commitment of 500GW of renewable energy by 2030, which is more than twice the installed capacity of coal currently, should set the stage for a quick transformation of the energy sector, the kind of which hasn't been witnessed so far," Khosla added.

While it is not a direct emissions reduction target, the reduction could be counted as a major & "transformative" step forward towards checking India's greenhouse gas emissions, which were about 3.3 billion in 2018, as per World Resources Institute. As the reports suggested, it could go above 4 billion per year by 2030. This would mean that by 2030, the country could emit somewhere between 30-40 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas per year. The said reduction cuts down the rate to at least 2.5% to 3% for at least the coming nine years.

"Reducing 1 billion tonnes of emissions by 2030 and expanding non-fossil capacity to 500 Gigawatts are enormous and transformative steps. 50% electricity generation from renewable energy sources speaks of India's leadership and commitment to climate action," Ajay Mathur, head of International Solar Alliance said, as per PTI.

PM Modi proposes 'One Word Movement'

Delivering India's National Statement at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, PM Modi on Monday, proposed "One-Word Movement," Shringla said. Calling for collective participation towards mitigating climate change, the PM highlighted that "Lifestyle for Environment" should become a mass movement to raise "environmental consciousness" and combat "mindless and destructive consumption." The PM also called for a "unified approach" to attain multidimensional goals in the fields of fishing, agriculture, wellness, dietary choices, housing, tourism, water management, energy. "It can bring revolutionary changes," PM Modi said at the summit, as per Shringla. Vesting his belief in the movement to stand the "test of time," PM Modi said that the masses' "conscious choice" is required for combating climate change.

With PTI inputs

Image: ANI