Climate Action Ministerial under Paris Agreement

Recently the fourth edition of the virtual Ministerial on Climate Action witnessed countries exchanging views on how countries are aligning economic recovery plans with the Paris Agreement. The European Union co-chaired the meeting, China and Canada to advance discussions on the full implementation of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Highlights of India’s efforts to contribute its part towards Paris Agreement

• India has achieved a reduction of 21% in the emission intensity of its GDP between 2005 and 2014, thereby achieving its pre-2020 voluntary target.
• Further, India’s renewable energy installed capacity has increased by 226% in the last five years and stands more than 87 Gigawatt.
• The Indian government has also announced the aspirational target of increasing renewable energy capacity to 450 GW.
• The share of non-fossil sources in installed capacity of electricity generation increased from 30.5% in March 2015 to 37.7% in May 2020.
• India has also leapfrogged from Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms by April 1, 2020, which was earlier to be adopted by 2024.
• Under Smart Cities Mission, Climate-Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2019 has been launched which intends to provide a clear roadmap for cities and urban India towards combating climate change through the adoption of both mitigation and adaptation measures.

UPSC