New Delhi: The environment minister announced on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the United Nations climate meeting in Glasgow, giving a boost to efforts to agree on tougher emission cuts in the fight against global warming. India is the world’s third-largest producer of greenhouse emissions after China, and Modi’s attendance at the COP26 conference, which begins on October 31st, is considered crucial given the uncertainty over whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would go.
In an interview, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav declared that the government was doing more than its fair share to combat climate change. “Our NDCs are more progressive than major polluters; our NDCs are extremely ambitious,” Yadav said. According to him, the country is on target to reach 450 GW of green energy capacity by 2030. More than 100 GW of renewable energy capacity has been added, accounting for more than 25% of total capacity.
The cabinet, led by Modi, would decide its stance at COP26, most likely within a week, according to an environment ministry official. India is unlikely to commit to a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to sources, because tighter constraints would stifle demand development. Chief economic adviser K.V. Subramanian said last month that rich countries needed to commit much more than $100 billion to help poor countries fight climate change. “Even now, India’s per capita greenhouse emissions are one-third of the global average,” added Yadav.