India has been at the forefront of climate action and in less than a decade has made significant progress in introducing green, renewable energy. With India’s G20 presidency for 2022-23, it has the chance to lead other member nations towards establishing a sustainable global economic recovery, land and ocean climate action; and financial mobilisation for environmental protection.
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New Delhi, Feb. 27: G20 finance ministers and central bankers held their first such meeting on Saturday in Bengaluru and spoke on varied agenda, ranging from global debt crisis, MDB reforms, climate finance, global approach on cryptos, digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion, financing cities of tomorrow, and taxation.. Here are some of the key take away on climate commitment from the outcome document:
Climate commitments: Time for collective efforts
The G20 leaders recognised the effects of climate change and under India’s presidency, the collective is working to draw options to support climate investments. The idea focuses on the importance of scaling up climate finance to address both mitigation and adaptation efforts in a balanced manner. Mobilization of timely and adequate resources for climate finance is needed to meet ambitious net zero emission targets set by the countries.
The members, in the outcome document, have said, “The G20 members have collectively reaffirmed the commitment to strengthen the full and effective implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.”
“We recall and reaffirm the commitment made by developed countries to the goal of mobilizing USD 100 billion climate finance per year by 2020 and annually through 2025 to address the needs of developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency in implementation and stress the importance of meeting that goal fully as soon as possible.”
G20 economies are responsible for about 75 to 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Major global economies are aggressively working towards adoption of green, renewable energy and lowering the carbon emissions. The G20 leaders have collectively agreed to encourage financial solutions, policies and incentives needed to mobilize capital for the rapid development, demonstration, and deployment of climate technologies, which are vital for a robust ecosystem of climate technology start-ups.
India at the forefront of climate action
According to a report by ORF, India and Italy are two leading countries on climate change mitigation, followed by Indonesia and United Kingdom, then Turkey, France and Germany. India scored 0.76 in Climate Action Performance Index, which measures the climate change action taken up by any country, wherein 1 is the maximum score.
India had set itself a target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and achieving 50% renewable energy capacity by 2030. The nation also holds the presidency of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which aims to improve the deployment of solar energy across continents. At the ongoing G20 presidency, the country has also entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices in the region.
Climate change has brought in not just environmental unrest but may also pose a greater threat to the economies. According to a report, namely – XDI’s Gross Domestic Climate Risk, Indian economy is likely to suffer a major beating alongside developed economies such as China and the United States due to climatic impacts. With initiatives such as National Solar Mission, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Water Mission, India has taken a big leap towards sustainable growth and climate action within the country. Now, as the president of G20, it is time for the nation to lead the developed countries towards a path of sustainable development and mobilize them for environmental protection.
