India’s INDCs and the road to Paris – 2
(Note: In this series of posts, we look at whether India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) – its promise of action to counter climate change ahead of the Paris climate talks this year – is all its claimed to be. In this second installment, we look at some of the later, more critical analyses of India’s climate commitment. Read Part 1 of the series)
A Flawed Climate Road Map (PDF)
Nagraj Adve & Ashish Kothari, EPW
India’s INDC on climate change has received laurels from diverse quarters. INDC justifies the projected rise in India’s emissions by emphasising the country’s development imperatives. This obscures the fact that the well-off will stamp their ecological footprint and the country will justify the rise in its emissions by hiding behind the poor.
India’s #ClimatePledge is a bargaining chip to shut the West up
Nihar Gokhale, Catch News
Since it promises to do more than what is considered its fair share in solving the climate problem, Harjeet says, the INDC is a “masterstroke”. “The developed countries can no longer ask India what it has done. Now it’s their turn to say how they will support us,” he says. “Expect fireworks at the Paris summit as well as during the interim talks in Bonn.”
Need for funds, tech not a negotiating issue: Jairam Ramesh
Business Standard
The adequacy of India’s climate change targets should not be under review under the Paris Climate Change agreement, says ex-Environment Jairam Ramesh in an interview to Nitin Sethi. But he agrees with Arvind Subramanian’s prescription to Prime Minister Modi: India should not ask for finance and technology from the developed world.
India’s renewable energy targets may be overambitious
Shreya Jai & Nitin Sethi, Business Standard
Currently, on an average, the country is adding 1,000 Mw of solar power annually. At this rate, 100,000 Mw in six years looks farfetched even if one was to assume that India can match China which has added solar capacity at an ever increasing rate. The Union ministry of new & renewable energy pegs the annual growth of solar power at 15,000 Mw. Privately, senior officers say the country would touch 6,000 Mw by the end of this fiscal and close to 10,000 Mw by next.
Assessment of India’s INDCs
Climate Action Tracker
On 1 October 2015, India submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), including the targets to lower the emissions intensity of GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030 below 2005 levels, to increase the share of non-fossil based power generation capacity to 40% of installed electric power capacity by 2030 (equivalent to 26–30% of generation in 2030), and to create an additional (cumulative) carbon sink of 2.5–3 GtCO2e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. For 2020, India has earlier put forward a pledge to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 20% to 25% by 2020 below 2005 levels. We rate the Indian INDC as “medium”. (Also read: Effect of current pledges and policies on global temperature)
Fair Shares: A civil society equity review of INDCs
Civil Society Review
This report, supported by social movements, environmental and development NGOs, trade unions, faith and other civil society groups from all over the world, is an independent review assessing the commitments that have been put on the table for Paris. It shows that there is still a big gap between what it will take to avoid catastrophic climate change, and what countries have put forward so far. It aims to identify which countries are offering to do their fair share and which need to do more – and presents recommendations on how the latter can close the gap.