India largely on track to do better than its Paris agreement targets: Report

A new report by an international nonprofit environmental organization on Wednesday has revealed that India is largely on track to meet, and even exceed, its Paris Climate Agreement targets.

As per the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)'s annual review of India's actions on climate change, the country is likely to meet its targets of reducing emissions by 33 to 35 per cent of its GDP by 2030 from the 2005 levels and achieve 40 per cent of installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.

However, 'The Road from Paris: India's Progress Towards its Climate Pledge' review report, remarked that some more work needs to be done on its goal of creating an additional carbon sink.

The NRDC report also noted that India is key to a successful outcome at the global climate negotiations beginning next week in Glasgow, just as it was during the Paris talks six years ago.

While the developed countries are failing to meet their targets for fighting climate change, India has exceeded its targets, according to Environment and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav.

"When the developed world is exhibiting shortfall in actions with just 14.8 per cent (greenhouse gas emission) emission reduction against the target of 18 per cent reduction in the pre-2020 period, India is overachieving its voluntary target of emission reduction," he told the General Assembly's high level meeting on climate action on Tuesday.

The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report released also on Tuesday confirmed India's achievement and suggested it should set higher targets.

The report said that India was projected to reduce "emissions to levels at least 15 per cent lower than their previous unconditional NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) emissions target levels under current policies" and has "significant room for raising their NDC ambition."

NDCs are targets set by countries for cutting emissions to achieve the Paris Climate Change goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and the NDC ambition is increasing the targets.

To support its clean energy transition, India is presently planning to launch a hydrogen mission which will explore how green hydrogen can be used by existing end users of hydrogen such as refineries and fertilizer plants, blended with natural gas for CNG users and piped natural gas used as fuel for longer-range vehicles and heavy-duty trucks and used in heavy industries like cement and steel.

Under Phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme, India allocated Rs 10,000 crore for advancing electric mobility in public transportation fleets, four-wheelers, three-wheelers, private two-wheelers as well as electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the report said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the upcoming international climate conference COP 26 in Glasgow which will be held from October 31 to November 12.