India flags mitigation gap by rich nations in 2031-35 climate plan

INdia has flagged “mitigation dream breach” by highly-developed countries in its mood design for the 2031-35 period submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, pointing out that achieving the targets laid out in this, for India and other developing countries, is contingent on the availability of adequate climate finance.HT reported on March 26 that the Cabinet has approved enhanced climate targets for the 2031-2035 period under the Paris Agreement, raising its commitments on emissions, clean energy, and forests at a time when the United States has withdrawn from the global climate framework and several developed nations are scaling back ambition. Specifically, India has committed to three quantitative goals: achieving around 60% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2035, with the help of transfer of technology and low-cost international finance ; reducing emissions Intensity of its GDP by 47% by 2035, from 2005 level and ; creating a carbon sink of 3.5 to 4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through forest and tree cover by 2035 as compared to the baseline year of 2005.But in its formal submission to UNFCCC, India has also highlighted the exacerbation of global warming due to an inadequate response by developed countries. Without sufficient funding, technology cooperation, and capacity-building, these conditional commitments cannot be fulfilled and hence weaken the collective objectives of the Paris Agreement, it has said.The NDC notes that recent data from the Second Needs Determination Report (UNFCCC SCF 2024) indicates a significant escalation in the financial resources required by developing countries for implementing NDCs. The updated estimates project a cumulative financing need ranging from $ 5.012 trillion to $ 6.852 trillion by 2030. This implies an annual mobilization requirement of approximately $ 455-584 billion between 2019 and 2030. “These figures underscore the critical imperative for scaled-up international support to match the implementation ambitions of developing nations…the enhancement of ambition, particularly for developing countries such as India, is closely linked to the effective provision of means of implementation, including predictable, adequate, and accessible climate finance,” the document states.Further, India has articulated that India’s NDC is guided by the vision of Vikshit Bharat by 2047.“India is aspiring to become a developed nation by 2047. The vision ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’ aims to attain new heights of prosperity, making best facilities available in rural and urban areas, adopting a pro-citizen governance model, and building world-class modern infrastructure,” the NDC document states adding that India aims to deliver on its ambitious targets of universal access to services like water, sanitation, waste management, affordable housing, electric power in line with short and medium horizon goals set out by the current initiatives of the government including fulfilment of sustainable development goals.India will pursue low carbon development pathways but at its own pace, the document says, adding that for the country to move from a lower-middle-income economy to a developed nation, economic progress needs to be supported by improvements in technology, skilled human resources, robust infrastructure, and sound fiscal strategies.“India remains committed to pursuing low-carbon development pathways that are firmly anchored in its national circumstances, developmental priorities, and long-term economic aspirations. Accordingly, the pace and scale of this transition will be calibrated to ensure that growth, poverty eradication, and social development objectives are fully safeguarded,” it states.The historical accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) since the Industrial Revolution has caused global warming, a problem that has been exacerbated by the inadequate response of developed countries, the document adds. “Despite the adoption of the UNFCCC, the failure of many developed nations to meet their obligations has created a “mitigation ambition gap” that calls for stronger global action from them.”Arguing that India will need transfer of technology and adequate financing to address its mitigation and adaptation needs, it has called for global collaboration in R&D for clean and sustainable technologies and for facilitating their transfer to developing countries without imposing prohibitive IPR costs. Funding mechanisms, including potential dedicated windows under the Green Climate Fund (GCF), could help offset these costs.It has clarified that India’s commitments are contingent upon the receipt of due support, including its due share of international climate finance; and may be modified to match the level of support made available. In addition, India may revise the values of its reference indicators, especially emissions and sinks due to methodological improvements.