Lok Sabha Question No. 1856 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-30
Subject: Compliance of Paris Agreement
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1856

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2021

## Compliance of Paris Agreement

## 1856.   SHRI T.R. BAALU:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  India's  emissions  are  likely  to  grow  at  the fastest pace in the world, as it presses for higher growth to pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and also that no amount of afforestation or reforestation would be able to compensate for the increased emissions;
- (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government to check emissions keeping in view that most of the carbon removal technologies right now are either unreliable or very expensive;
- (c) whether it  is  also  true  that  India  is  the  only  G20  country  whose  climate  actions  are compliant  to  the  Paris  Agreement  goal  of  keeping  global  temperatures  from  rising beyond 2°C; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE  IN THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) Global warming is a global collective action problem and has to be solved by international cooperation. India is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)  and  its  Paris  Agreement  (PA),  and  reports  its  emissions  of  greenhouse  gases (GHGs)  on  a  periodic  basis  to  the  UNFCCC  through  its  National  Communications  and Biennial Update Reports (BURs). Both UNFCCC and its PA recognise and acknowledge that the emissions of the developing countries, India included, will rise owing to their social and developmental  needs. As  per  the  third  BUR  submitted  to  the  UNFCCC,  India's  net Greenhouse  Gas  (GHG)  emissions  in  2016,  including  Land  Use,  Land  Use  Change  and Forestry  were  2,531.07  million  tonne  CO2  equivalent.  Between  2014  and  2016,  India's  net GHG emissions rose by nearly 225 million tonne CO2 equivalent, a growth of about 4.8% per annum.  Nevertheless,  India's  per  capita  GHG  emissions  in  2016  was  only  1.96  tonnes  of tCO2e which is less than one third of the world's average per capita GHG emissions. India's contribution to historical global cumulative emissions from 1850 to 2017 is also only about 4%. Hence, India's annual and cumulative emissions in both absolute and per capita terms have been significantly low, and far less than its equitable share of the Global Carbon Budget. Thus the impact of global warming on India is largely due to the emissions of the developed countries and other big emitters and not due to our own emissions.

In addition, India's emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has reduced by 24% between 2005 and 2016 against the pre-2020 voluntary goal of reducing it by 20-25% from

2005  levels  by  2020.  This  indicates  our  continued  efforts  at  decoupling  growth  from emissions. Forest and tree cover has increased by around 1.3 million ha between the 2015 and 2019 assessments of the Forest Survey of India. The Land Use and Land-Use change sector, under  which  forests  and  tree  cover  are  included,  removed  15%  of  the  country's  carbon dioxide emissions in 2016, amounting to a net removal of about 307.82 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, increasing its status as a sink by 2.2% since 2014.

(b) Under the Paris Agreement, India has submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)  balancing  the  concerns  and  priorities  of  climate  change,  sustainable  development including poverty eradication, and economic growth of the country. India's NDCs comprise eight goals for 2021-2030, including (i) to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level; (ii) to  achieve about 40 per cent  cumulative  electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 with help of the transfer  of  technology  and  low-cost  international  finance;  and  (iii)  to  create  an  additional carbon  sink  of  2.5  to  3  billion  tonne  of  CO2  equivalent  through  additional  forest  and  tree cover by 2030.

Government is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which provides the overarching framework for climate actions, through  eight national missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India and strategic knowledge on climate change. Under the NAPCC's overarching framework, thirty-three (33) States /UTs have prepared State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC). Further, to support adaptation measures in States / UTs in areas that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, Government is implementing  the  National  Adaptation  Fund  for  Climate  Change  (NAFCC).  In  addition, Government has set up an Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) to coordinate and oversee the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

(c) and (d) According to the Climate Transparency Report (2020) which makes reference to the  Climate  Action  Tracker  (CAT)  assessment,  India  is  the  only  G20  country  whose  NDC targets are compatible with the Paris Agreement temperature target of 2 degrees Celsius.

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