India’s decision to revise its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement signals that clean energy and economic growth can go hand in hand, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said on Thursday. NDC is the pledge each country makes under the agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
India on Wednesday approved enhanced climate targets for the 2031-2035 period under the agreement, raising commitments on emissions, clean energy, and forests.
Stiell said the move from one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies could not be more crucial, when the soaring costs of dependence on volatile fossil fuels are becoming painfully clear, undermining national security and sovereignty around the world, driving up prices, and leaving people short of food and fuel. “By contrast, renewable energy is not at the mercy of narrow shipping straits or huge naval escorts,” he said.
Stiell said India is showing that clean energy and economic growth can go hand in hand. “The country is becoming a solar superpower and is positioning itself as a global leader in renewable energy manufacturing. This new climate plan will deepen India’s economic advantage by targeting a growing share of non-fossil energy,” Stiell said in a statement.
Stiell said the signals India’s move contains will support a new wave of investment in energy and electric mobility, support domestic manufacturing and create millions of high-quality jobs. “The sooner India meets and exceeds its targets, the more jobs, prosperity, and national economic strength it will create, and the more India will shape the global clean energy economy.”
{{/usCountry}}Stiell said the signals India’s move contains will support a new wave of investment in energy and electric mobility, support domestic manufacturing and create millions of high-quality jobs. “The sooner India meets and exceeds its targets, the more jobs, prosperity, and national economic strength it will create, and the more India will shape the global clean energy economy.”
{{/usCountry}}The new targets represent a step-up from the goals India set for the 2030 period, announced in August 2022. India aims to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP, the amount of greenhouse gases produced per unit of economic output, by 47% by 2035 from 2005 levels, up from the earlier target of 45% by 2030.
India has committed to drawing 60% of its cumulative installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2035, against the previous goal of 50% by 2030. It has raised its target for carbon sinks, CO2 absorbed through forest and tree cover, to 3.5-4 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035, from 2.5-3 billion tonnes by 2030.