India can Reduce Carbon Emissions by 35% in Next 10 Years: Javadekar

PC : Twitter/Javadekar

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said he is hopeful that India would achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 35% in the next ten years.

Union Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Heavy Industries Prakash Javadekar has said that he is hopeful that India would be able to achieve its goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 35 percent in the next ten years.

Speaking at the 15th @FollowCII #sustainability Summit I said, though India is not part of the problem of #ClimateChange but we are part of the solution. We are walking the talk on our Climate Change commitments which many countries aren’t. pic.twitter.com/MuxRRa0ZM3

— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) September 9, 2020

Addressing a session on Action Agenda for Sustainable and Self Reliant India during the 15th Sustainability Summit 2020, the minister said India was committed to reducing carbon emissions and was confident about upscaling solar power capacity from 175 gigawatts to 220 gigawatts by 2022.

“The share of non-fossil sources in the installed capacity stands at 37 percent today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared and upscaled the target from 175 GW of solar power to 220 GW by 2022 and we are confident we will achieve this,” he said.

He also said that it is important to achieve a green Earth with clean air and blue skies post COVID – 19 despite the odds and that it is possible to do so alongside industrial activity. He pitched for promoting sustainability as only it could “save humankind from nature’s worst fury.”

Highlighting the country’s achievement towards a greener growth in the past few years the minister said, “India is walking the talk on climate change. Our work on Ujjwala, electric vehicles, BS-VI engines, biofuels, clean air, and disaster resilience pave the way for a sustainable and resilient India. Targeting 35 percent emission reduction, we have reached 21 percent already and in 10 years, we will achieve the target.”

He further elaborated that the energy mix in the installed capacity now includes 37 percent of renewable energy sources. Adding that the country’s solar power capacity has been increasing rapidly and noted that 68 countries have ratified the International Solar Alliance Agreement.

The Sustainability Summit is the annual flagship event of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in sustainability, launched in 2006 to raise the bar of dialogue, practice, and performance of a sustainable business.