India emitted 2,299 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, a 4.8% rise from last year, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). India’s emissions growth this year was higher than that of the United States and China — the two biggest emitters in the world — and this was primarily due to a rise in coal consumption. China, the United States, and India together accounted for nearly 70% of the rise in energy demand.

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Main findings of the report:

• China, India and US account for 85% of the net increase in carbon emissions.
• India’s per capita emissions were about 40% of the global average and contributed 7% to the global carbon dioxide burden. The United States, the largest emitter, was responsible for 14%.
• India’s energy intensity improvement declined 3% from last year even as its renewable energy installations increased 10.6% from last year.
• Global energy consumption in 2018 increased at nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a robust global economy and higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world.

Concerns due to rising CO2 emissions:

• As per its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, India has promised to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
• It has also committed to having 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and, as part of this, install 100 GW of solar power by 2022.
• However, the IEA report showed that India’s energy intensity improvement declined 3% from last year even as its renewable energy installations increased 10.6% from last year.
• India says it will cost at least $2.5trillion (Rs. 150 trillion approx.) to implement its climate pledge, around 71% of the combined required spending for all developing country pledge
• India is also at the frontlines of facing the impacts of climate change. Shifting rainfall patterns, recurring floods, stronger  cyclones  and  droughts  or  soil  erosion  are  exacerbating  the  challenge  of  poverty eradication and necessitate the allocation of scarce national resources for preventing loss of human life.

Recognising the need to cut down on carbon emissions to tackle climate change, the government of India has taken the following steps to reduce the carbon emissions:

• Despite resource  constraints,  India  is  undertaking ambitious  actions  to  undertake  adaptation  and mitigation  actions,  including  thorough  lowering  of the  energy  intensity  of  our  economic  growth, increasing energy efficiency across sectors and making greater use of renewable.
• India has doubled the Clean Energy Cess on coal, which very few countries have, and the Clean Energy Fund already has over 3 billion US dollars to be used for promoting clean technologies
• India’s National Solar Mission is being scaled up five-fold from 20,000 megawatts to 100,000 megawatts. This will mean an additional investment of 100 billion dollars and savings of about 165 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
• India is releasing 6 billion US dollars in one go for intensive afforestation which will result in more carbon sinks.
• India has allocated about 200 million US dollars for the ‘National Adaptation Fund’, setting-up of Ultra Mega Solar  Projects,  Ultra-Modern  Super  Critical  Coal  Based  Thermal  Power  Technology,  and  the development of Solar Parks on canals.
• The “100 Smart Cities’ with integrated policies for adaptation and mitigation to reduce the vulnerability  and  exposure  of  urban  areas  to  climate  change  and  also  to  improve  their  energy efficiency for which 1.2 billion US dollars have been allocated.
• Crop diversification programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI).
• Increasing the area under System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as an alternative to the widely used practice of transplanted paddy.
• India has also fast-tracked its investment and promotion of decentralized renewable energy as a resource to empower populations who are vulnerable.
• India has initiated preparations to develop a National Air Quality Index and have launched a National Air Quality Scheme

Way forward:

• Addressing the distortion in the cropping towards water intensive crops like rice and promoting agro-climatic farming
• Increased community engagement in the adaptation measures.
• Expansion in the community forestry and Joint forest management to contain the loss to green cover due to industrial activity.
• Increased international collaboration for finances and technology with an outcome based approach
• Strict enforcement of building code and expansion of rooftop solar power program to reduce dependence on the coal energy
• Better urban planning focusing on solid waste management and public transport