India will achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Glasgow Monday, while announcing India’s new climate commitments. He was speaking at the ‘High Level Segment for Heads of State and Government’ during the UNFCCC’s 26th Conference of Parties (COP).
The net-zero commitment is among five new climate change targets Modi announced at the climate summit after much anticipation.
The Indian government had been tight-lipped about its commitments at the COP26, and had maintained that a net-zero target by 2050 was off the table despite pressure from developed countries.
Net-zero means removing as many emissions of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as produced. The commitment is significant since India is the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, after China and the US.
Calling them the “gift of five elixirs” (panchamrit), PM Modi announced India’s four other commitments — all by 2030. These are: increasing non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW), fulfilling 50 per cent of energy requirements from renewable sources, reducing carbon intensity of economy by 45 per cent, and reducing total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes.
“These five elixirs will be an unprecedented contribution by India towards climate action,” Modi said at the summit.