PM Modi sets 2070 net-zero target, demands $1 trillion climate finance – EQ Mag Pro
In a major announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today committed to ‘net-zero’ emissions by India by 2070 at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
“India will be net zero by 2070,” the Prime Minister told the world at the high-level segment of COP26 World Leaders’ Summit, upscaling India’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) which are at the heart of the Paris Agreement.
At the same time, however, he also urged developed nations to make $1 trillion climate finance “available at the earliest”, reminding them of climate justice and past “hollow” promises on climate technology and finance. The PM said he was speaking on behalf of all developing countries.
Today, it is important to track climate finance, just like we track the progress of climate mitigation.
“It will be an appropriate justice to create pressure on the nations that don’t meet their own promises on climate finance,” he told developed nations, some of whom have been trying to pressurise developing nations to commit net-zero emissions by 2050. The PM’s announcement came as part of the five ‘amrit tatva’ or ‘panchamrit’ from India, as he called them. He said India would increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and fulfil 50% of its energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030.
When India took the ambitious pledge of achieving 450 GW installed capacity by 2030 through non-fossil fuel sources, it was seen as overambitious. Now, India is not only on track to achieve this target, but has also decided to further raise it to 500 GW. India has also pledged to fulfil 50% of its energy requirements from renewables by 2030,” he said.
Modi said India would also cut down its net projected carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes till 2030. Urging the developed nations to fulfil their long-held promises of technology and finance transfer to developing nations, the PM said just like India had raised its ambition in setting its targets, they also needed to raise their ambitions in climate finance and transfer.
India constitutes 17% of the global population and its contribution to the emission has only been 5%. But today, the entire world admits that India is the only major economy which has delivered on Paris commitments in letter and spirit,” he said
“Despite being a developing country, India has shown the way when it comes to safeguarding planet earth. For me, the Paris climate event wasn’t a summit but a sentiment, a commitment. India was not making promises to the world, instead 125 crore Indians were making promises to themselves. I am happy that a developing country like India is working to pull crores of people out of poverty.”
Reminding the developed nations of “the reality” of “hollow promises” made so far over climate finance, he said: “When we are taking forward our ambition regarding climate action, the ambitions of world over climate finance cannot keep standing at the point where they were at the time of Paris Agreement.”
Source : PTI
