India also irked many climate researchers by including “clean coal” — an unproven technology — as part of its target to get 40 percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2030
India a key player in any climate change debate
- Posted: Sunday, December 6, 2015 8:00 am
India a key player in any climate change debateBy Natalie Obiko Pearson Bloomberg NewsSentinelSource.com
NEW DELHI — At the climate talks in Paris, many eyes were on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said developed nations could make the biggest difference on the environment. “National commitments must be consistent with the carbon space nations occupy,” he said.
Wealthier nations also have a responsibility to make cleaner energy affordable and accessible in the developing world, he said. “This is in our collective interest,” he said.
Developing nations are looking for him to champion their long-term interests in winning funds to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. For Modi, it’s an opportunity to claim his spot among the world’s top statesmen crafting a solution to one of the biggest risks facing humanity — and he’s unlikely to pass that up.
So far Modi’s approach has amounted to more style over substance. His top diplomat called the climate talks India’s biggest negotiation of the year and Modi cast himself as the standard bearer for developing nations.
Yet at the same time, Modi has set a target for reducing emissions that’s so low the world’s third-largest polluter will meet it without committing to anything new.
India’s size makes it essential to any meaningful deal. The country now has 1.3 billion people, and it’s set to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2022. It needs an enormous amount of infrastructure investment to raise the lowest living standards among the biggest emerging markets. That means abundant use of emissions-heavy steel, cement and aluminum.
In the run-up to the talks, India’s commitments underwhelmed climate researchers. Four separate assessments showed that India could reach its targets with previously announced policies, even though nations were asked to come up with more far-reaching goals in Paris.
“It’s hardly ambitious — in fact, not at all,” said Shakeb Afsah, a former World Bank environmental economist and founder of Performeks LLC, one of the groups that analyzed India’s submissions. “The expected rate of decline in emissions intensity that India is pledging is just business as usual.”
India became a leader among developing nations after China broke ranks last year by agreeing to peak in 2030. Instead, India has agreed to reduce the intensity of its fossil-fuel emissions: the amount of CO2 it releases per dollar of gross domestic product — an approach that leaves plenty of wiggle room.
India also irked many climate researchers by including “clean coal” — an unproven technology — as part of its target to get 40 percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
Currently, about 60 percent of India’s power comes from coal. By 2040, India will have the fastest-growing electricity demand among major economies and be the top driver of global coal demand, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Whichever way you look at it, India needs to limit the amount of coal-fired power generation,” said Karlien Wouters, a quantitative climate policy analyst at London-based Ecofys, a research organization.
To his credit, Modi boosted India’s renewable energy target by nearly fivefold after taking office in May 2014. That commitment lies at the heart of India’s emissions pledge.
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