COP29: Experts believe India on way to achieving net zero emissions

Outlining its core expectations from the COP29, India on Tuesday said developed nations, as historical emitters of greenhouse gas, should take the lead in mitigation efforts and climate finance.

Experts say that India is on track in terms of the agreements like bringing down carbon emissions made at previous COP to net zero emissions. Officials from the environment ministry on Tuesday reiterated that COP29 should recognise that developing nations in order to transition from coal to renewable energy require financing.

“Undue obligations should not be imposed. Instead developed nations should provide support for developing countries to reach their energy goals in a fair and tailored manner,” a senior official from the ministry added.

Ramya Natarajan, a research scientist working with the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) said while India was doing well in terms of promises made, transitioning to net zero would be very challenging for India.

“Inter-ministerial working groups have also been set up to build a road map for net-zero emissions. However, transitioning to net zero will be very challenging for India, not only from a financing perspective but also due to biophysical constraints. For example, we do not have enough resources for first generation (1G) ethanol production, considering competing demands from maintaining food and nutritional security. We may also run into land constraints if we focus purely on electrification and renewable energy instead of including diverse supply sources and demand management.”

An official from the Environment Ministry said, “India has achieved 40 per cent cumulative electrical power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources in 2021 and reduced the carbon dioxide emissions by 33 per cent in 2019 that is far ahead of the target year of 2030.” Hisham Mundol, Chief Adviser, India to Environmental Defence Fund, said India had made substantial strides towards its COP26 commitments, particularly in renewable energy.