IPCC report endorses India’s position on climate finance: Environment Minister

Bhupender Yadav says India firmly believes that climate change is a global collective action problem that can be solved only through international cooperation and multilateralism

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav during the launch of ‘Prakriti’ and ‘Green Initiatives on Plastic’, at Parivesh Bhavan in New Delhi, on April 5, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Monday report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) endorses India’s position on the need for scale, scope and speed in climate finance, Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav said in a prepared statement on Tuesday.

Limiting global warming would require major transitions in the energy sector and would mean drastic reduction of fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and the use of alternative fuels, the authors of the study warned.

“India firmly believes that climate change is a global collective action problem that can be solved only through international cooperation and multilateralism. India will continue to be the voice of ambition as well as champion of equity on behalf of developing countries,” Mr. Yadav said at an event organised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on minimising plastic pollution.

The IPCC report focused on mitigation, or what could be done to reduce emissions to keep the globe on track to ensure that temperature didn’t exceed over 2 C—and strive to keep it below 1.5 C—by the end of the century.

Close to 80% of the total carbon budget for ensuring temperature didn’t exceed 1.5C and 66% of the carbon budget for preventing an overshoot over 2C had been used up. Half the global population, the vast majority of the developing world, was responsible for only 14% of global emissions, Mr. Yadav noted.

A key question

The report had acknowledged that with a shrinking carbon budget, accessing a fair share of the remaining carbon budget for developing countries was a key question, he stated.

“India believes that the utilisation of resources must be made on mindful and deliberate utilisation and not mindless and destructive consumption,” he added.

From 2010-2019, the average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history but the rate of growth had slowed. Without immediate and deep emission reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C was beyond reach.

Since 2010, there have been sustained decreases of up to 85% in the costs of solar and wind energy and batteries. Policies and laws in several countries have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced the rates of deforestation and accelerated the deployment of renewable energy, the IPCC authors underlined in their report.