At the Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which took place in Paris in December 2015, nations from all over the world pledged to establish a new global climate agreement by that time. In advance of a new international agreement, nations have committed to publicly state their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or the climate activities they plan to take after 2020. The 2015 agreement's ambitious goals and whether the world is put on a course toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future will be largely determined by the INDCs. The Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of India has also been submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This article will explain to you about Intended Nationally Determined Contributions which will be helpful in preparing the Environment Syllabus for the UPSC Civil Service exam.

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions

Overview

INDC- Overview

• With the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the INDCs combine the top-down system of a United Nations climate agreement with bottom-up system-in components via which countries present their agreements in the context of their national capabilities, circumstances, and objectives.
• The INDC includes protections that aid in reducing emissions, highlights actions taken to adapt to the effects of climate change, and examines what the nation needs to put such actions into action.
• Before the United Nations Climate Change Conference, an assessment phase is conducted after a country submits its INDC data to evaluate its impact.

Top-Down System

• While the UNFCCC's COP 21 was taking place and the Paris Agreement was being signed, the following INDC was submitted:
  • China: China set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 to 65 %.
  • United States: Set a target to cut greenhouse gases by 26–28%
  • European Union: Attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40%
  • India: Provided a target of 33-35 % for the GDP unit.

Targets

INDC- Salient Features

• To promote a sustainable, healthy way of life built on the customs and principles of moderation and conservation.
• To adopt a more environmentally friendly and clean road than those previously taken by others at a comparable degree of economic development.
• To achieve a reduction in the emissions intensity of its GDP of 33 to 35% from 2005 levels by 2030
• To reach a cumulative installed capacity of non-fossil fuel-based energy resources of roughly 40% by 2030 with the aid of technology transfer and low-cost international financing, including from the Green Climate Fund.
• To increase the amount of forest and tree cover by 2030, adding 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent as a carbon sink.
• To improve investments in climate change-sensitive development programs, notably in agriculture, water resources, the Himalayan area, coastal regions, health, and disaster management.
• To raise funding from developed nations, both domestically and outside, in order to carry out the aforementioned mitigation and adaptation measures, taking into account the resource gap and the required resources.
• To establish the necessary frameworks and international architecture, as well as to develop the necessary capacities, for the joint, cooperative R&D of such future technologies.

INDC - Key Elements and Focus Areas

India's INDC focuses on the nation's policies and initiatives for:

• Sustainable Lifestyles: To promote a balanced, sustainable way of life-based on the customs and principles of moderation and conservation.
• Cleaner Economic Development: Choosing a more environmentally friendly and sustainable path than those previously taken by those at comparable economic development levels.
• Reducing Emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP): To reduce the GDP's emissions intensity by 33 to 35% from its 2005 level by 2030.
• Increasing the Share of Non-Fossil Fuel-Based Electricity: With the aid of technology transfer and low-cost foreign financing, including that from the Green Climate Fund, to attain around 40% of the total installed capacity of electric power from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2030.
• Enhancing Carbon Sink (Forests): To increase the amount of forest and tree cover by 2030, adding 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent as a carbon sink.
• Adaptation: To improve investments in climate change-sensitive development programs, notably in agriculture, water resources, the Himalayan area, coastal regions, health, and disaster management.
• Mobilizing Finance: To raise local funding as well as new and extra monies from developed nations in order to carry out the aforementioned mitigation and adaptation measures in light of the available resources and the resource gap.
• Technology Transfer and Capacity Building: To establish the necessary frameworks and international architecture, as well as to develop the necessary capacities, for the joint, cooperative R&D of such future technologies.

How is India’s INDC different from Other Countries?

• India's INDCs place a lot of emphasis on adapting to climate change.
• Four of India's National Action Plan on Climate Change's eight missions include: sustainable agriculture, improving water use efficiency, maintaining the Himalayan ecology, and building sustainable habitats which are geared toward adaptation.
• No other nation has been able to devote as much attention to and effort toward adaptation as India has.
• In addition to describing its approach to creating and facilitating technology transfers to enable the fulfillment of the INDC, India has also described the financial consequences of the climate change goals.

*TO know more about the topic, click this link Indias National Action Plan On Climate Change

India’s Plan for Climate Change Mitigation

• Lower Emissions: Between 2005 and 2030, India intends to lower its emissions intensity by 33 to 35 %.
• However, India's efforts to combat climate change are having a significant positive development impact.
• Energy Efficiency: In order to do this, it is concentrating on encouraging efficient energy use and accelerating the use of clean and renewable energy by an additional 40% by 2030.
• Afforestation Activities: Through extensive aforestation activities, we also hope to increase our carbon sinks by 2030, adding a capacity of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2.
• Renewable Capacity Expansion Initiatives: India is implementing one of the largest renewable capacity expansion initiatives in the world to meet its targets for growing reliance on renewable energy.
• Other Initiatives: The initiatives include setting up solar parks and power projects, anchoring the International Solar Partnership Alliance (InSPA), establishing Green Energy Corridors to ensure evacuation from renewable energy plants, implementing the National Smart Grid Mission, and introducing new initiatives to increase energy capacity from wind and waste conversion.
• Technological Augmentation: India is increasing its ability to create technology that will successfully address climate change. India is encouraging both energy-efficient and hybrid and renewable energy-powered technology.
• India's Zero Defect, Zero Effect policy seeks to improve energy and resource efficiency in addition to the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency.
• IPR Regimes: India is also a supporter of IPR regimes that would facilitate cross-national R&D partnerships for the creation and dissemination of clean technologies.
• Low-carbon Growth: India is also working to create technology to support low-carbon growth, with a particular emphasis on technologies for clean fossil fuel generation, energy management, and renewable energy storage systems.
• Goals for Economic Progress: India is clear that attempts at mitigation shouldn't stifle goals for economic progress.
• Changing Emissions Trajectory: India is concentrating on changing the emissions trajectory without compromising the amount of energy needed for the country to grow holistically and collectively.

India’s Plans for Adapting to Climate Change

• India's strategy for combating climate change places a strong emphasis on adaptation strategies, which are also ingrained in Indian culture.
• India's culture values nature, and its traditions are strongly ingrained with an awareness of the environment.
• Here, people have mastered the art of coexisting with nature. In consideration of its population and economic expansion, India has made lifestyle adjustments a key component of its approach to combating climate change.
• In addition, India is one of the countries that has widely used adaptation strategies for climate change.
• In addition to India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, 32 of the country's 29 states and 7 union territories have already submitted their individual State Action Plans on Climate Change (NAPCC).
• In its NAPCC, the country has concentrated 4 of its 8 missions on adaptation measures which were mentioned above.
• India is putting governmental programs into place to support climate-resilient agriculture, effective irrigation systems, watershed management, and organic farming.
• To support these efforts, India established the National Adaptation Fund, which has a 350 crore rupee (US$ 55.6 million) corpus.

India's Perspective on Climate Justice

• India is in a good position to comprehend and balance this demographic's requirements for upliftment with the global agenda for climate change action because a sizeable section of its people is still living below the poverty line.
• India just makes up 2.4 % of the earth's surface but is home to over 17.5 % of the world's people.
• It is home to the biggest %age of the world's poor—30 %, or 363 million people—as well as around 24 % of those without access to electricity (304 million), 30 % of those who cook with solid biomass, and 92 million people without access to clean water.
• These geographical, socioeconomic, and other variables render India particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change.
• Compared to the global average of 1.88 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) per person, India's average annual energy consumption in 2011 was only 0.6 toe.
• Additionally, India's substantially lower average yearly energy use has allowed it to earn a Human Development Index of 0.586.
• Without a 4 toe per capita energy supply, no nation in the world has been able to reach an HDI of 0.9 or above.
• Thus, India has a long way to go before its people may live decent lives and realize their legitimate aspirations.

INDC - Opportunities

• Economic growth can coexist with low-carbon and climate-resilient approaches, as the INDC demonstrated.
• Additionally, it will contribute to increased health, reduced poverty, and simple access to energy and security.
• It will also attract financial, capacity building, and technology transfer help.
• The worst effects of climate change might be mitigated if similar initiatives are encouraged in other nations.

INDC- Challenges

• The limited-time allocated to produce the INDC is seen as a barrier by several nations.
• insufficient technological knowledge
• Lack of advice and clarity around what should be or should not be included in INDCs
• International assistance for creating the INDCs is lacking.

Conclusion

Given its experience in successfully implementing climate change measures, India is also aware that present adaptation initiatives are neither universally cheap nor viable. Economically disadvantaged members of society bear the brunt of current climate change mitigation measures without having their ambitions for development and progress are taken into account. India is ready to take the lead in adaptation activities that will make eradicating poverty for the world's poor a top priority for combating climate change as a responsible global citizen.