What is net zero and how India is planning to achieve it by 2070
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26 (Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC) in Glasgow that India will achieve net zero emissions by 2070, a date that is set two decades later than the summit's commitment to reach that target: 2050. So what is 'net zero emissions' - what you know as 'net zero' - and why has India committed to achieving this goal much later than other countries?
WHAT IS NET ZERO? Net zero means a balance between the quantity of greenhouse gases released and removed from the atmosphere. What does that mean?
The amount of carbon produced by a country each year must be compensated through absorption of carbon through forests or carbon capturing. To achieve net zero - or to go carbon neutral - a country does not add in more carbon than it takes away.
In the context of climate change, net zero emissions is an important concept because this is the only way to strike out global warming. According to NetZero Climate, "The ‘net’ in net zero is important because it will be very difficult to reduce all emissions to zero on the timescale needed. In order for net zero to be effective, it must be permanent; that is, that any greenhouse gas removals do not leak into the atmosphere over time, for example through the destruction of forests or the improper storage of removed carbon dioxide."
WHERE DOES INDIA STAND? India ranks third in the list of the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitters, after China and the US. In 2019, India emitted 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per head, while the US emiited 15.5 tonnes and Russia emitted 12.5 tonnes.
Along with committing to reach net zero, PM Modi has also pledged to get 50% of India's energy from renewable resources by 2030, and also to reduce total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by the same year.
As per Arunabha Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a leading climate think tank, India has "clearly put the ball in the court of the developed world" with its 'five elixirs':
- pledge to produce 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil electricity capacity
- get half of energy from renewables
- reduction of emissions by one billion tonnes
- emissions intensity of the GDP by 45% by 2030
- and finally, achieve net zero by 2070.
THE O: India's contribution to global warming is staggering and PM Modi's commitment to reach net zero by 2070 shows hope in reducing carbon emissions. But with its multiple challenges, only time will tell if India is able to achieve this goal.