India has already shown that it has the innovation and political will to follow the path of sustainable development. He said India also had a great opportunity to use new technology to pioneer the path of clean development.
In an exclusive interview with IANS here just hours before the official launch of COP 26 with calls for concrete climate action in Glasgow from all sectors, the High Commissioner for India said: “We have a full agenda given the lack of a two-year COP. Our expectations and targets are driven by science.”
“The international scientific consensus is that the world is running out of time to prevent significant harm to ourselves and our planet from climate change. The COP26 summit in Glasgow is our last chance to prevent this by putting the world on the right track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.”
This means that we need to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 – with countries reaching different rates depending on their stage of development. So as hosts of COP26, we’re asking all countries to work together to keep the road at 1.5 degrees alive. “
Explaining what success in Glasgow would look like, he replied: “We are asking all countries to increase their Nationally Determined Contributions (short-term targets) and achieve long-term targets in line with the 2050 target. For this COP we also need to work on some of the details of an agreement in Paris on Things like how carbon markets will work in the future.”
Believing developed countries must honor their $100 billion a year pledge on climate finance, Ellis, who fondly remembers his time trekking in the Himalayas and hiking in the night sky in the desert near Jaisalmer, said Britain also wanted to ensure countries’ support in this regard. . Climate change adaptation and that developed countries provide climate finance and technology flows to support green economic transformation in developing countries.
As for the global outlook from India, the diplomat told IANS that under Modi, India is already taking impressive climate action – quadrupling its wind and solar capacity in the past decade, now setting a target of 450 gigawatts and launching a national hydrogen mission.
Climate action must support development. India has already shown that it has the innovation and political will to follow the path of sustainable development. India has already reduced the emissions intensity of its economy by 20 per cent compared to 2005 levels.
“So, with all countries, we are asking India to raise the GHG target to 2030 and develop a long-term strategy in line with the 1.5 degree target.”
On the call for developed countries to reduce their emissions, he said emphatically: “Developed countries must set ambitious targets for climate action, and as COP President we urge them to do so.”
India has a huge opportunity – to use new technology to blaze a trail of clean development. Climate action must support growth. Most of the energy and other infrastructure that India will need by 2040 has yet to be built.
“India can take a leap forward by developing clean technology, rather than limiting itself to lower-carbon systems that are more polluting and ultimately more expensive.”
At the same time, Ellis believes that India is already on this path.
Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to install 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030 is hugely impressive. “We recognize that developed countries also have a role to play, which is why the UK is pushing for COP26 to bring in the right cash flow and technology to meet the needs of countries like India.”
To celebrate the leadership parade, US President Joe Biden will travel to Glasgow on November 1 for the United Nations Climate Change Summit – a pivotal moment on the path to a safer and more sustainable future since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.
Modi will also attend the climate talks that are expected to bring together more than 120 world leaders to discuss how best to deal with the climate crisis, and at which the UN Secretary-General has called for a “mass mobilization” of the political will that trust requires. between two sides. The world’s largest economies – the Group of Twenty – and between developed and developing countries, including emerging economies.
On the prospects for countries making progress on national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the envoy reacted optimistically: “We have already seen countries like the United States and Japan commit to halving their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“The next decade will set the course for the net-zero vision for the future. The UK released its detailed strategy last week on how to achieve our goal of achieving net-zero by 2050.”
He added that Prime Minister Johnson’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution restores the UK’s commitment to rebuilding better, supporting green jobs, and accelerating the path to net zero.
COP26 is the annual United Nations climate conference of the Parties.
This year’s COP, after losing 2020 to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be held under the British presidency in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city of nearly 6,000,000 people, from October 31 to November 12.
Climate Talks will bring together heads of state, climate experts and activists to agree on coordinated action to tackle climate change.
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