India has promised to cut emissions intensity by 33-35 percent by 2030, in a climate-change policy statement (Associated Press photo)
India will
cut intensity of carbon emissions by 33-35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels and make its economy more energy efficient, the government today said as it announced an ambitious climate-change policy ahead of a major UN summit in Paris later this year.
"Goal is to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 33%-35% from 2005 level, by 2030,"
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said a day after the government submitted a new plan to the UN for combating climate change. "It is a huge jump for India, therefore it is a very ambitious target," Mr Javadekar said, adding that the government was "confident" of meeting those targets.
India, the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, made the pledge to cut emissions intensity - the ratio of a country's carbon emissions to its economic output - as part of its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs, in a document published on a UN website early on Friday.
In the 38-page document, India said that it would target 40 per cent cumulative installed power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
New Delhi has ruled out committing to absolute cuts in carbon emissions, in contrast to the United States, China and other big nations which have announced peak years for emissions.
"The developed world has polluted the Earth and we are suffering. Still, we want to become part of the solution and give results," Mr Javadekar said.
The government estimated at least $2.5 trillion would be required to achieve the country's climate change goals, which include increasing forest cover, between now and 2030.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Barack Obama and France and Britain's leaders last month, and
called for a climate change agenda that helps developing countries with access to finance and technology.