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India bares new climate goals amid coal dependency woes

The Indian cabinet approved India’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions in line with the commitments under the Paris Agreement and the announcements made at the Glasgow COP26 Summit.

India has gotten its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) approved by the Cabinet. This will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). NDCs, which are long-term voluntary commitments made by countries signatory to the Paris Agreement, make up a global effort to reduce emissions and global warming.

In the latest updated NDCs, which broadly represent India’s framework for its energy transition between 2021 and 2030, the country has committed to attaining 50 per cent of its total electric power installed capacity through non-fossil fuel-based energy resources (renewable energy, including hydropower) by the year 2030.

At the UN climate change conference (COP26) at Glasgow last year, India announced a target of achieving 500 gigawatt (GW) of its total energy from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources by 2030.

The updated NDCs also committed to reduce India’s emissions intensity (volume of emissions per unit of its Gross Domestic Product) by 45 per cent in 2030 from the 2005 levels. They maintain the commitment of going net zero by 2070. However, the updated NDCs are silent on the commitment of the total reduction of carbon emissions by one billion tonnes.

As per the latest data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India’s current total installed capacity of power stands at 404 GW out of which the majority of the power (50 per cent) comes from coal, whereas renewable sources of energy account for 28 per cent and hydro energy accounts for 12 per cent.