R K Singh wants developed countries to reduce emissions
India is not going to make any compromise on the electricity needs for a growing economy but more power plants will be developed in a responsible manner, Power Minister R K Singh said on 14 Nov 2023.
“We need to develop. At the same time, we will do that responsibly. We were nine years ahead in achieving the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target of having 40% of installed power capacity from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2030,” he said at the India International Trade Fair 2023 in New Delhi.
“We pledged at COP-21 in 2015, that we will reduce our emissions intensity by 33% by 2030; we did this by 2019. So, in Glasgow, we have said that by 2030, we will have 50% of our capacity coming from renewables and that we will reduce our emission intensity by 45%. We will achieve it. So, we are on target,” R. K. Singh said.
He spoke about India’s position in the wake of the upcoming COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, pointing out that developed countries need to cut down their emissions first.
“Around 85% of the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere is due to the path of industrialization followed by developed countries. India’s population is 17% of world population while our contribution to carbon dioxide load is only 3.5%.
“Even now, our per capita emissions are one third of world average, while that of developed countries is three times the world average.
“The developed countries used fossil fuels for developing their economies but they want to tell us that we should not use coal,” the Minister highlighted. “It is the developed countries that need to cut down their emissions first.” Fiinews.com
