Road to net-zero status

Why in News?

• The article discusses the plan outlined by India at the ongoing COP27, to achieve a net-zero emission status by 2070 and the sectors it will focus on.
• It also examines critically the reason that why a key area like agriculture, find no mention in the plan.

 

Background

• CoP26 declaration: In the run-up to last year’s climate change conference in Glasgow, countries also announced target years for achieving net-zero status.
  • In the case of most developed countries, this is 2050. China has set 2060 as its target year, while India said it would reach there in 2070.
• Submission: A year after announcing its intention to achieve a net-zero emission status by 2070, India recently submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) its long-term plan to achieve this target, emphasizing climate justice, sustainable lifestyles and equity.
• Updated goals: India’s updated NDCs (under the Paris Agreement) has broad quantifiable goals as follows:
  • India will reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% from 2005 levels by the year 2030
  • Achieve about 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
  • Creation of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink through forests (not updated).
• Funding requirement: As per India’s submitted document, the overall climate finance requirement by 2050 to achieve net zero emissions by 2070 will be around ₹85.6 trillion by 2030 for India’s adaptation needs.

 

The scheme

• Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries have to prepare and submit two kinds of climate action plans, one for the short term, and another for long-term.
• Short-term climate action plans: Also called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), these have to be submitted every five years, with specific actions being taken over 5 or 10-year periods.
  • The NDCs of all countries currently contain the actions they are taking till 2030.
• Focus on parity: For developed countries, NDCs must include specific emission reduction targets for the year 2030.
  • Every subsequent NDC, next one is due in 2025 must be a progression from the existing NDC.
• Long-term strategies: Apart from NDCs, the Paris Agreement also asks countries to submit their long-term strategies to reduce emissions.
  • But there is no particular time frame for which these long-term strategies have to be prepared, but countries may draw out the plans till the middle of the century.
• No mid-term targets: There are no mid-term goals or indicative pathways and the document is entirely devoid of any numbers or projections. Most of the 60-odd countries that have submitted their long-term strategies have not offered mid-term targets or pathways.

 

India’s strategy

• Sector-wise targets: To reach the net-zero destination, India is planning large scale interventions in 5 sectors namely energy and electricity, transport, urban design, industries, and forestry.
• Pushing climate-oriented R&D: The plan involves focused R&D efforts aimed at developing climate-specific technologies, and mobilization of financial resources, both public and private, domestic and international.
  • India has identified several climate-specific technologies in Carbon capture and storage (CCS), biofuels, smart grids, solar photovoltaics, energy storage, and others which it said are key to achieving the net-zero goal.
• The long-term strategy document: It lists key focus areas and specific interventions that India is already taking, or has planned to initiate, in each of these priority sectors as follows :
  • Energy sector: In this sector, for example, decarbonisation would come mainly through expanding the share of renewable energy, rationalising the utilisation of fossil fuels, and focusing on demand-side management.
  • Transport sector: Low carbon development in transport sector would be driven mainly by electrification of both public and private vehicles, phased transition to cleaner fuels, and introduction of intelligent traffic systems.
  • Other sectors: Similar focus areas have been identified for other sectors as well. For instance, redesigning of urban spaces, increase in energy and material efficiency, revitalization of forests etc.

 

Agriculture missing

• No mention of agriculture sector: India has not indicated agriculture in its long-term strategy. It is concerning because this sector is mainly responsible for methane emissions which is the second most common greenhouse gas in the atmosphere after carbon dioxide.
  • Also, methane is far more dangerous than carbon dioxide in its potential to cause global warming.

• Significance of methane reduction: Molecule to molecule, the reduction of methane offers far greater benefits than carbon dioxide.
  • Also, unlike carbon dioxide, methane is largely a sectoral gas, so its reduction does not have economy-wide repercussion the way carbon dioxide has.
• Impediment: However, methane emissions is a sensitive issue for India, mainly because major contributors happen to be agriculture, i.e. paddy crops in standing water and belching of cattle which India has the world’s largest population of.
  • This is why India did not even join a global coalition on methane reduction that was launched at the previous climate conference in Glasgow even though it is among the top five methane emitters globally.

 

About Global coalition on methane reduction

• Description: The Global Methane Pledge was launched at COP (Conference of Parties) 26 in 2021 to catalyze action to reduce methane emissions.
  • It was led by the United States and the European Union.
• Commitment: By joining the Pledge, countries commit to work together in order to collectively reduce methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.

 

Skepticism on carbon removal tech

• As per India’s strategy document, to achieve net-zero emission target by 2070, India will be heavily reliant on CCS and negative emissions technologies and in particular, to offset emissions from challenging and hard-to-abate sectors.
  • But India’s long-term strategy did not rely on them in any big way.
• This is a new sector being explored the world over, and shall require substantial international support through innovation, technology transfer, climate-specific finance, and capacity building, as highlighted by the strategy document.
  • It did however acknowledge that without CCS, achieving net-zero would not be possible.

 

Conclusion

• The net-zero status can be achieved only when the emissions are offset either by absorption of greenhouse gases by forests or physical removal of these gases through futuristic technologies.
• The balance would have to be offset through various kinds of carbon capture and storage technologies, which, at the moment, seem unviable. This is what all the countries are relying on in their promises to turn net-zero.