Syllabus: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
COP30 Context
- UNFCCC COP30 scheduled for November in Belém, Brazil, amid a turbulent geopolitical climate.
- Western Reluctance: Developed countries are increasingly hesitant to assume the climate leadership mantle due to global headwinds.
- U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement undermines international climate cooperation efforts.
- EU Position: The European Union is reluctant to lead; Brazil emphasises only implementation rather than ambitious targets.
- India’s Expectations: Expected to update Nationally Determined Contributions and present National Adaptation Plan.
India’s Steady Approach
- ‘Axis of Good’ Emergence: Multiple countries working consistently on climate change despite U.S. exit.
- India-Europe Cooperation: Working together on climate technology development and knowledge sharing initiatives.
- Non-Divisive Issue: Climate change is not a politically divisive issue in India; steady commitment towards targets maintained.
- Implementation Focus: Implementation COP may sound unambitious, but fulfilling existing promises represents real progress.
- Strategic Partnerships: Potential India-Brazil collaboration on common ground areas like forest conservation.
Finance and Implementation
- Adaptation Finance Need: COP30 emphasises finance for climate adaptation beyond mitigation actions like solar, EVs.
- Project Pipeline: Developing countries need to createa specific investable project pipeline, not just sectoral approaches.
- $1.3 Trillion Target: Annual climate finance figure to be raised by 2035 under ‘Baku to Belém’ roadmap.
- Financial System Involvement: Entire system including public finance, private sector, multilateral banks, philanthropies must participate.
- Means of Implementation: Implementation requires discussing finance, technology transfer and skilling beyond domestic funding.
- Innovative Finance: Exploring new sources of finance for adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts.
India’s Emissions Trajectory
- Power Sector Achievement: First time, India’s power sector emissions stopped growing due to renewable energy expansion.
- Decoupling Success: Energy and emissions decoupled; future projections show power sector emissions won’t grow.
- Growing Economy Reality: Despite building houses, creating manufacturing jobs, and supplying power, emissions remain stable.
- Cost-Effective Solutions: Aggregated innovations like the PM-KUSUM solar agriculture scheme, electric buses drive down costs.
Need for Adaptation-Mitigation Integration
- Dual Benefit Projects: Actively seek projects countering heat, flood risks while simultaneously reducing emissions.
- Solar Cold-Chain: Agriculture cold-chain storage using solar power exemplifies adaptation-mitigation integration model.
- Public Transport: Electric buses provide emission reductions while improving urban mobility and air quality.
- Sectoral Innovation: PM-KUSUM scheme demonstrates solar energy application in agriculture sector effectively.
India’s NDC Strategy
- Current Target: Drawing 50% electricity from non-fossil sources by 2030; renewables already half installed capacity.
- Green Hydrogen Link: Explicitly codify renewable energy-green hydrogen production connection in updated NDCs.
- Intent Signaling: Incorporating green hydrogen, even if incremental, sends strong commitment signal internationally.
- Industry Challenge: Biggest emission source; hard-to-abate due to process emissions in cement, steel manufacturing.
- Long-Term Signal: Consider a new NDC target for the industry sector encouraging electrification from renewable sources.
National Adaptation Plan Priorities
- Priority Projects List: Create a wish list of priority adaptation projects modifiable by each state.
- Carbon Market Participation: Earlier indicated willingness for solar plus storage projects, not just solar.
- Blended Finance Models: Indicate project types where public-private sector finance can be combined effectively.
- State Customisation: Allow states to modify national priority list according to local adaptation needs.