Climate Change: India Pledges To Cut Emissions By 35% By 2030

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India has pledged to cut the intensity of its carbon emissions by 33-35 per cent by 2030 in the target submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for a global climate pact.

India, the world’s third biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has pledged to source 40% of its electricity from renewable and other low-carbon sources by 2030. India’s submission to the UN, known as its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), focuses on clean energy, including solar power.

The action plan is built around three elements reduction in emissions intensity, an increase in forest cover, and a greater role for renewable energy in power generation. India is the last major economy, following 140 other countries including China, the US and the EU, to submit a climate change plan to the UN before international talks to reach a deal on tackling global warming in Paris this December.

India will also increase its forest cover to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The cabinet has already approved a proposed legislation to manage a huge afforestation fund. The government also plans to develop 140,000 km of tree-line along both sides of national highways. The government has said till 2030, these emission intensity-reduction targets and adaptation to climate change will require about $2.5 trillion, as well as an array of technologies.