Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference?
The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow was a critical summit aimed at accelerating action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Major Outcomes:
- Glasgow Climate Pact: For the first time, a COP decision explicitly targeted fossil fuels, calling on parties to accelerate the "phasedown of unabated coal power" and "phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies."
- Enhanced Ambition: The Pact requested countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 climate targets (Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs) by the end of 2022 to align with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.
- Climate Finance: Developed countries were urged to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries from 2019 levels by 2025, though the long-overdue $100 billion annual target remained a point of contention.
- Rulebook Finalisation: The rules for international carbon markets (Article 6) were finalized, creating a framework for countries to trade carbon credits to meet their climate targets.
- Sectoral Pledges: Several side-deals were made, including the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
India’s Commitments (Panchamrit):
India made a bold set of five commitments, termed 'Panchamrit' or the five nectars:
- Reach 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.
- Meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
- Reduce total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030.
- Reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030, over 2005 levels.
- Achieve the target of Net Zero emissions by the year 2070.
These commitments significantly enhanced India's climate ambition on the global stage.
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Important Questions from GS3
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