Javadekar: India the Only Country Keeping Commitments on Climate Change

Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar has said that he believes that only India is keeping its commitments on climate change

Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar has said that he believes that only India is keeping its commitments on climate change, despite accounting for only six to seven percent of total carbon emissions in the world.

Speaking at a webinar organised by the merchants’ chamber of commerce and industry, the Union Minister also claimed that the country is not responsible for climate change, but it is working towards enhancing the generation of solar and renewable energy.

“India is the only country which is honouring its commitment on climate change, even though it is not responsible for it. Several other countries are now preaching carbon neutralisation, something that the Indian industry has adopted on its own. The Indian industry is taking steps to go carbon neutral. And they are doing it responsibly,” he said.

Javadekar also said that the country should gradually shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce pollution.

“Prices of EVs, as of now, are at least 40 percent higher than their counterparts in diesel and petrol variants. But with the rising volume of EV sales, prices will come down,” he stated.

The Union minister said initially 3000 battery charging stations will be set up along Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Agra highway. The government has allowed a battery swapping policy as well, under which discharged batteries would be replaced at designated facilities.

In November 2020, the minister had appealed to key industry leaders from steel, cement, power and pharmaceutical sectors to work with the government in combating climate change and help India achieve the targets set under the Paris Climate Agreement.

Following the appeal by the minister, industry leaders took a pledge to work with the government to tackle climate change and build sustainable economies by adapting measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy. CEOs and top managers of companies, including Reliance Industries Ltd, Tech Mahindra, Dalmia Cement, Ambuja Cement, Dr. Reddy’s, Sun Pharma and Adani Transmission, attended the discussion.

At the virtual event, Javadekar requested the companies to provide their internal roadmaps and targets on a yearly basis to the Environment Ministry and participate in achieving targets set under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.