The climate crisis is an existential crisis for the Earth, and the entire world must overcome this crisis with the highest level of cooperation and partnership, he said…reports Asian Lite News
India will lead this transition from fossil fuels to Green and Clean Energy and become a major resource of Solar and Hydrogen Energy in the coming decades, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said.
“It’s an opportunity worth seizing as we march from the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence to its Centenary in 2047,” Ambani said during a conversation with R.A. Mashelkar, President, Pune International Centre, as part of the Asia Economic Dialogue 2022.
The climate crisis is an existential crisis for the Earth, and the entire world must overcome this crisis with the highest level of cooperation and partnership, he said.
The world must make a rapid transition from old energy to new energy, which is necessary for mankind’s larger transition from an industrial revolution to an ecological or earth friendly revolution, Ambani said.
“Our young and super-talented entrepreneurs will make India a Green Energy Superpower in the next 20 years, in the same that India became an IT Superpower in the last 20 years.”
Reliance is deeply committed to playing the leading role in creating India’s Green Economy with large-scale generation of green employment opportunities, he added.
Ambani said for the next 2-3 decades, India’s dependence on coal and imported oil will continue.
“But, we must have a plan to eliminate that in the next 2-3 decades. Hence, in the near and medium term, we will have to follow low -carbon, and bo-carbon strategies of development.
“I believe that India will be among the fastest growing large economy and our energy needs are going to double in next couple of decades.
“India will overtake the European Union as the world’s third-largest economy. In my view, by sometime around 2030-2032.
“I foresee at least 20-30 new Indian companies in the energy and tech space which will grow as big as Reliance, if not bigger, in the next 10-20 years,” Ambani added.
The IEA has played an active role throughout, participating in a range of events addressing the ways in which the energy sector can help solve the world’s climate challenge…reports Asian Lite News.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday said if the world achieves a 30 per cent cut in methane emissions from human activity by 2030, it would have a similar impact on global warming as switching all world’s cars, trucks, ships and planes — the entire global transport sector — over to net zero emissions technologies.
After two weeks of intensive discussions on how to step up international efforts to tackle global warming, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow concluded on Saturday night.
The IEA has played an active role throughout, participating in a range of events addressing the ways in which the energy sector can help solve the world’s climate challenge.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol joined dozens of world leaders, led by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, at the launch of the Global Methane Pledge, underscoring that reducing methane emissions is the most impactful way to limit near-term climate change.
An official statement quoting Birol said he welcomed the commitment by more than 100 countries worldwide to join the pledge to cut global methane emissions from human activity by 30 per cent by 2030 and highlighted the IEA’s longstanding efforts to push for an end to methane leaks from fossil fuel operations.
Multiple leaders including Colombian President Ivan Duque, at the Global Methane Pledge launch, noted the IEA’s important role in advocating measures to clamp down on methane emissions.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country was the first to commit to meeting the IEA goal of 75 per cent reduction in energy-related methane emissions by 2030.
Got to see an old friend today – except this time, he’s the Mayor. Glad we could spend some time together this morning, @AmarjeetSohiYEG. I’m looking forward to once again working with you on affordable housing, public transit, climate change, and so much more. pic.twitter.com/gQ1t4gjPtT
US Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry, who moderated the event, said the IEA has “played a tremendous role for all of us” and expressed appreciation to Birol for his leadership.
At COP26, Birol also met key leaders and top officials from around the world for discussions on key energy and climate issues, including a substantive meeting with Chinese Special Envoy on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua.
They discussed the IEA’s recent Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050 and Energy Sector Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality in China, as well as China’s energy transition and climate goals.
Birol also held a bilateral meeting with UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, at which they discussed cooperation between the UAE government and the IEA to support the Gulf nation’s efforts to accelerate its clean energy transition and diversify its economy with the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
At a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif, Birol focused on strong and growing programme of IEA-Indonesia cooperation on the energy transition, including the country’s net zero roadmap and the energy agenda for its G20 Presidency in 2022.
During the first week of COP26, the IEA published a commentary on new analysis showing that if all the climate pledges made by countries around the world as of November 3 — covering methane as well as carbon emissions — were to be met in full and on time, it would limit the rise in global temperatures in this century to 1.8 degrees Celsius.
That’s a notable improvement from the 2.1 degrees Celsius of warming that was projected by its World Energy Outlook 2021’s Announced Pledges Scenario in mid-October, based on the climate pledges to date at that point.
But Birol believes this progress is still not enough to put the world in line with the critical goal of limiting warming to 1.5 Celsius — and the pledges still need to be backed up with clear policies to actually put greenhouse gas emissions into decline.
Boosting progress on appliance energy efficiency is key to delivering on global climate ambitions.
Our initiative, in partnership with the UK, aims to double the efficiency of key appliances sold globally ahead of #COP26.
Tracking and accountability will be critical to ensure that countries and companies are following through on their promises.
At the request of the UK’s COP26 Presidency, the IEA is leading the tracking of global progress against the Glasgow Breakthroughs — five goals aimed at driving down the costs of clean technologies. Meeting these goals will be essential to enabling the achievement of governments’ long-term net zero pledges.
At COP26, CGIAR on Monday urged global leaders to ensure the 500 million smallholder farmers responsible for up to a third of global food production can adapt to climate change-induced loss and damage while curbing their greenhouse gas emissions…reports Vishal Gulati.
Rice is a staple crop in India as well as in many parts of Asia and Africa, but climatic extremes including rising sea levels — which causes inland salinisation — can seriously affect its production.
The adoption of ‘climate-smart’ rice has led to significant increases in yield in climate change stress-affected areas, including those inhabited by the most impoverished farming communities. The drought-tolerant Sahbhagi Dhan variety is specifically deployed in India.
At the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in this Scottish city, CGIAR Managing Director (Research, Delivery and Impact) Claudia Sadoff talked exclusively to IANS in the context of how to help farmers to become “climate smart”, improving productivity and resilience while reducing emissions.
She said large-scale flooding is occurring with greater frequency in South Asia with many of the region’s most vulnerable people, who live in vast agrarian belts within the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins, being the worst affected.
Index-Based Flood Insurance (IBFI) designed by CGIAR researchers combines satellite imagery with mathematical modeling to calculate flood damage and verify claims, avoiding the need for costly field visits and thus keeping premiums affordable and giving smallholders a valuable lifeline.
As another example, she said that a CGIAR project in Gujarat led to 3,500 farmers gaining access to solar irrigation offering excellent mitigation potential where the majority of irrigation pumps are diesel.
“Farmers also have a 25-year agreement with the local power utility to buy back surplus power, thus increasing energy access and alternative income while incentivising smart groundwater use and reducing carbon footprints.
— Canada's Ambassador for Climate Change (@CanAmbClimate) November 5, 2021
“The success of the pilot inspired a multi-billion-dollar government of India initiative to promote solar irrigation,” she said.
CGIAR is the largest global research partnership working towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and technology it has developed has helped yields triple in Europe and North America.
At COP26, CGIAR on Monday urged global leaders to ensure the 500 million smallholder farmers responsible for up to a third of global food production can adapt to climate change-induced loss and damage while curbing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovations are needed that can both reduce the contribution of global agriculture to climate change, and adapt to its increasingly evident consequences while also supporting livelihoods, nutrition and equality.
The call comes as the UK pledged $55 million over two years to boost commitments to CGIAR research from a steadily growing global coalition to surpass $1 billion.
The new pledges will contribute to an accelerating of research and innovation to confront rapidly intensifying climate challenges that could upend the global fight against hunger and poverty.
The first week at COP26 delivered significant support for climate innovation for farmers across the developing world. Pledges to CGIAR came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and countries including the US, Canada, Sweden and Belgium, and now the UK.
Sadoff told that Indian rice farmers face a heavy toll from flooding just after crop sowing.
Recurring impacts of floods in India necessitate improving farmers’ knowledge of adaptation and coping methods along with improving flood-resilient infrastructure to reduce the damaging impacts on farming communities.
Swarna-Sub1, a submergence-tolerant rice variety developed within CGIAR, could play an important role in minimising the effect of flood on rice production. A recent study shows that the variety could be most beneficial for flood adaptation in districts of Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, she said.
On the rice stubble burning in northern India that has long been a major cause of air pollution, she said CGIAR research has made a significant difference toward efforts to stop the harmful practice of rice straw burning, by providing a more ecologically friendly alternative.
“Zero tillage provides farmers with a mechanised alternative to burning and tilling land between the rice harvest and wheat planting season.
“The approach instead offers a way to sow wheat directly into unplowed paddies and rice straw, using innovative machinery and attachments that can chop the leftover rice stalks, spread the residue evenly as mulch, and plant seeds into the soil — all without the need for clearing.”
According to her, the climate crisis is exacerbating the degradation of food, land, and water systems, impacting productivity, viability and resilience.
“Business as usual will mean that zero hunger will be an unattainable goal. Food value chains that exploit natural resources beyond planetary boundaries, resulting in waste generation, deforestation, water pollution, ecosystem destruction, and biodiversity loss are a global problem.
“Combined, these impacts increase the vulnerability of the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on them — to extreme events and other shocks such as Covid-19.”
A key objective of CGIAR is to increase the resilience of smallholders who are on the frontline of climate change and there are many examples of climate smart innovations that have already been developed and many more in the pipeline.
In stage two, the four new tracking devices could pass over deep ocean trenches, across major migratory routes for marine mammals and birds, possibly beaching on distant shores…reports Vishal Gulati.
On the penultimate day of COP26, scientists have deployed plastic pollution tracking devices into the ocean around Scotland.
The devices will help scientists understand how plastic bottles move in the ocean and their interaction with climate change impacts, wildlife and weather patterns.
The ‘Message in a Bottle’ tracking project is being run by — Arribada Initiative, The University of Exeter, The University of Plymouth and the Zoological Society of London with support from #OneLess and OneOcean.
Designed to mimic a single-use plastic drinks bottle, the devices will respond to currents and winds as real bottles do. Stage one of the project launched on World Ocean Day June 8 during the G7 in Cornwall, and has already seen seven devices travel hundreds of miles over the past five months.
In stage two, the four new tracking devices could pass over deep ocean trenches, across major migratory routes for marine mammals and birds, possibly beaching on distant shores.
A recent study released by ZSL (Zoological Society London) and Bangor University revealed links between the global climate crisis and plastic pollution, including the impact of extreme weather worsening the distribution of microplastics into pristine and remote areas.
With all eyes on the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 nearing its completion in Glasgow, the four devices have been named “Heat”, “Acidity” “Deoxygenation” and ‘Pollution’ to draw attention to the need to adequately address these ocean crises in tandem and to ensure that a recurring ocean climate dialogue is fundamental to future COPs.
Heather Koldewey of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and University of Exeter, lead scientist on the project and Director of the #OneLess campaign said, “Through our research we’ve seen that plastic and climate change are fundamentally and intrinsically linked.
“Plastic is made from fossil fuels, generating greenhouse gasses at every step of its life cycle and the impact of both plastic pollution and climate change are both prevalent around the world. These crises are truly interconnected. There is only one ocean and by tracking the flow of plastics we are trying to demonstrate the connectedness and the wide-reaching impact that humans are having on our planet. There is an urgency to acknowledge that the climate crisis is the ocean crisis.”
Mirella von Lindenfels, Director of the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), said: “The ocean regulates our climate and buffers us from the full force of climate change by absorbing our excess heat and over a third of our CO2 emissions. Any irreversible and significant changes to the ocean could have profound economic and ecological consequences.”
Over 359 million tonnes of plastic is produced annually and production has been predicted to double in the next 20 years.
These are projects that risk taking the world well beyond climate limits and becoming stranded assets, with little or no economic value…reports Asian Lite News.
Amidst climate justice groups installing oil barrels at COP26 to say “no fossil fuels — not here, not anywhere”, a new analysis by Carbon Tracker released on Wednesday found the proposed deepwater Cambo oil field off Scotland is uneconomic and its future exploitation is incompatible with the Paris goal of maintaining warming at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Carbon Tracker founder and executive chairman Mark Campanale said: “Cambo is uneconomic and would not be financially competitive in a well-below 2 degrees C world. Moreover, COP26 is showing the world the urgency of the climate crisis and if we are to ‘keep 1.5 alive’, this means this project is clearly amongst the first to fall by the wayside.
“The world has a great many existing oil projects that are lower cost and lower risk than Cambo and that are ahead in the financial pecking order. The IEA has said that ‘no new oil, coal or gas is needed’ in a 1.5C scenario and Cambo is blatantly one of those projects.”
The thinktank utilises oil demand using different IEA scenarios — linked to specific temperature policy goals — to understand oil and gas supply. A cost-curve approach is used based on data from Rystad Energy, allowing those oil and gas projects which fall outside of a given temperature outcome to be identified.
These are projects that risk taking the world well beyond climate limits and becoming stranded assets, with little or no economic value.
Based on Carbon Tracker’s modelling, the multi-billion-dollar Cambo oil field off Shetland has a breakeven oil price significantly higher than the marginal oil price under the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS, 1.65C).
Put another way, the project is only financially viable if the world fails to limit global temperature rise to well below 2C.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson outside the front of No10 Downing Street with the National Grid COP26 installation ahead of the start of COP26 in Glasgow. Picture by Andrew Parsons No 10 Downing Street
On the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26, climate justice groups and grassroots groups brought oil barrels to oppose fossil fuel extraction.
Speakers at the venue talked about the dirty energy struggles around the world — from the Cambo oil field and new coal mine in Cumbria in the UK, to the LNG export project in Mozambique, to oil export facilities in the US and more.
They said that wealthy countries need to get their act together and come up with credible plans for concrete action to cut emissions, end reliance on fantasy techno-fixes and support a just transition away from fossil fuels.
The Cambo oil field is located about 125km to the west of the Shetland Islands, and contains more than 800 million barrels of oil.
The companies involved in its development are Siccar Point and Royal Dutch Shell, which was recently forced by a court ruling in the Netherlands to slash oil production in line with its net zero goals.
If approved by the Oil and Gas Authority, drilling at Cambo could start as early as 2022. And the field is expected to produce oil and gas for approximately 25 years.
The pledge to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation is backed by almost £14 billion ($19.2 billion) in public and private funding, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
In the biggest step forward in protecting the world’s forests in a generation, more than 100 leaders will commit to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 at an event convened by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at COP26 Climate Change Conference today.
The pledge is backed by almost £14 billion ($19.2 billion) in public and private funding.
Countries spanning from the northern forests of Canada and Russia to the tropical rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will endorse the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use. Together, they contain 85% of the world’s forests, an area of over 13 million square miles.
Forests are absorbing around one-third of the global CO2 released from burning fossil fuels every year, but the world is losing them at an alarming rate. An area of forest the size of 27 football pitches is lost every minute.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to say at the Forest & Land Use event at COP26: “Today, at COP26, leaders have signed a landmark agreement to protect and restore the earth’s forests.”
“These great teeming ecosystems – these cathedrals of nature – are the lungs of our planet. Forests support communities, livelihoods and food supply, and absorb the carbon we pump into the atmosphere. They are essential to our very survival,”
“With today’s unprecedented pledges, we will have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and instead become its custodian,” Johnson will say.
The commitment will be supported by a pledge to provide £8.75bn ($12bn) of public finance from 12 countries, including the UK, from 2021 – 2025. This will support activities in developing countries, including restoring degraded land, tackling wildfires and supporting the rights of indigenous communities.
This will go alongside at least £5.3 billion ($7.2 billion) of newly-mobilised private sector funding. CEOs from more than 30 financial institutions with over $8.7 trillion of global assets – including Aviva, Schroders and Axa – will also commit to eliminate investment in activities linked to deforestation.
President of Colombia Iván Duque said: “Colombia is proud to endorse the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. The Declaration is a landmark commitment from countries to work together to end deforestation and all land degradation within the next decade.”
“Never before have so many leaders, from all regions, representing all types of forests, joined forces in this way and Colombia is committed to playing its part. We will enshrine in law a commitment to net-zero deforestation by 2030 – one of the most ambitious commitments in Latin America – and to protecting 30% of our land and ocean resources by 2030.”
“Now we must all work in partnership with businesses, the finance sector, smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to create the conditions for forest-positive economies to grow and thrive,” he added.
President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo said: “Indonesia is blessed as the most carbon rich country in the world on vast rainforests, mangroves, oceans and peatlands. We are committed to protecting these critical carbon sinks and our natural capital for future generations.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to his seat next to David Attenborough after giving the opening statement at the COP26 summit. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street
“We call on all countries to support sustainable development paths that strengthen the livelihoods of communities – especially indigenous, women and smallholders,” he added.
The UK will commit £1.5bn over five years to support the forests pledge, including £350m for tropical forests in Indonesia, and £200m for the LEAF Coalition.
The UK will also contribute £200m, alongside 11 other donors, as part of a new £1.1 billion ($1.5bn) fund to protect the Congo Basin. The area is home to the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world which is threatened by industrial logging, mining and agriculture.
Governments representing 75% of global trade in key commodities that can threaten forests – such as palm oil, cocoa and soya – will also sign up to a new Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Statement. The 28 governments are committing to a common set of actions to deliver sustainable trade and reduce pressure on forests, including support for smallholder farmers and improving the transparency of supply chains.
Currently almost a quarter (23%) of global emissions come from land use activity, such as logging, deforestation and farming. Protecting forests and ending damaging land use is one of the most important things the world can do to limit catastrophic global warming, while also protecting the lives and futures of the 1.6 billion people worldwide – nearly 25% of the world’s population – who rely on forests for their livelihoods.
Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store said Norway will continue and further develop its International Climate and Forest Initiative at high levels until 2030.
The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watch HM The Queen video message to the COP26 World leaders as they join the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at an evening Royal Reception at Kelvingrove Museum as part of the COP26 World Leaders Summit Day in Glasgow. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
“We’re excited to be part of a growing coalition of donors and companies mobilising to reduce deforestation and enable a just rural transition. I am particularly pleased that we are joining forces to secure Indigenous Peoples’ rights and increase the recognition of their role as forest guardians,” he added.
Among those speaking alongside the Prime Minister Boris Johnson are Prince Charles, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Columbian President Ivan Duque, US President Joe Biden, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Since Alok Sharma was appointed President for COP26, he has been on his toes, travelling across the globe to set the agenda for the summit, a report by VISHAL GULATI
The man behind bringing nearly all 200 nations into a common cause — to adapt to the effects of climate change and limit the rise in average global temperature to 1.5 C as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement — is an Indian-origin UK minister.
Born to Hindu parents in Agra and moving to the UK in 1972, Alok Sharma was appointed President for COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, on January 8.
Since then Sharma has been on his toes, travelling across the globe to set the agenda for the summit.
This year COP is being held under the presidency of the UK and is being hosted in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12. This is the largest event of its type that the UK has ever hosted. The climate talks bring together heads of state, climate experts and campaigners to agree to coordinated action to tackle climate change.
At the climate summit, which began amidst a series of reports and studies warning that urgent action is needed to keep the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global average temperature increases to 1.5 C within reach, Britain will be leading the formal negotiations and will have oversight of the overall COP package and vision, including political declarations.
Climate negotiators told IANS it would have been a big task for Sharma, who has been working closely with the backing of the Prime Minister to get countries to commit to new pledges to tackle the climate crisis, to enable the developing countries that require technological and financial support so they can leapfrog the dirty development path and increase their resilience to climate impacts.
Prior to entering Parliament, Sharma qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte, and then worked for 16 years in banking.
Sharma was in New Delhi in August for discussions with ministers and leaders from industry and civil society on collaboration on climate action.
At that time, Sharma, who holds the post of minister of state at the UK Cabinet Office, said India had a vital role to demonstrate renewed action under the Paris Agreement.
“India’s leadership, including through the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), is hugely important as we look to build global resilience ahead of COP26 and beyond,” he had said.
In the last climate talks in Spain in 2019, India, China, Brazil and some developing countries had failed to convince the world to evolve rules for trading internationally carbon credits which help them decarbonise economies at lower cost.
The countries failed to agree unanimously on Article 6 of the crucial Paris Agreement rulebook concerning the carbon markets system as the two-week lengthy negotiations concluded two days past the official deadline.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides guidelines on how international climate markets will work, as a key component of the world’s economic toolbox for addressing climate change.
It allows emission reductions to be implemented in one country and the credit to be transferred to another and be counted towards its commitments (known as nationally determined contributions or NDC).
In COP25, the developed world took the stand of not allowing the ‘junk’ carbon market, which allows buying and selling of carbon emissions, and emerged under the Kyoto Protocol adopted in December 1997 to continue in the exiting mechanism under the Paris Agreement.
Several countries like India had been demanding to carry forward the old carbon credits earned also by companies to meet new climate targets. The carbon credits allow companies to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate experts told IANS that it would be high time for Britain, especially Indian-origin COP President Sharma, to convince the developed nations not to completely reject the carbon trade mechanism, a key component for the full operationalisation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
In India, 1,686 projects have been successfully registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, millions of certified emission reductions (CERs) credits, better known as carbon credits, remain unsold with collapsing of the CDM market.
“So let’s come together over these two weeks. And ensure that where Paris promised, Glasgow delivers”
This morning, COP President @AlokSharma_RDG delivered his speech at the opening of #COP26.
One CER equals one tonne of carbon dioxide. The CERs help companies earn billions of dollars by trading them. Currently, there is a market but no political platform.
In a new Reflections Note just ahead of the onset of COP26, Sharma said, “I very much want to support Parties to deliver on the matters you have told me are key political components of a Glasgow outcome. These include mobilising finance, keeping 1.5 alive, scaling up adaptation, addressing loss and damage, and finalising the Paris Rulebook — Article 6, the enhanced transparency framework and common time frames”.
“In addition, there are a number of other important decisions to be taken, including on Action for Climate Empowerment and the review of the Least Developed Countries Expert Group for example.”
British High Commissioner Alex Ellis said India has already proved that it has the innovation and political will to follow a sustainable development path, reports VISHAL GULATI
Just ahead of nations descending on Glasgow for the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, with the UK presidency’s key objective as keeping the goal of limiting temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis said India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is already taking impressive climate action — quadrupling wind and solar capacity in the last decade.
India has already proved that it has the innovation and political will to follow a sustainable development path. Also India has a huge opportunity to use new tech to pioneer a clean development path, he said.
In an exclusive interview with IANS in New Delhi just hours before the official start of COP26 with calls for concrete climate action in Glasgow coming from all sectors, the High Commissioner to India said: “We have a packed agenda given that there hasn’t been a COP for two years. Our expectations and aims are driven by science.”
“The international scientific consensus is that the world is running out of time to avert great harm to ourselves and our planet, through climate change. The COP26 summit in Glasgow is our last best chance to avert this, by putting the world on the path to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
“That means that globally we need to reach net zero emissions by 2050 — with countries getting there at different speeds according to their stage of development. So as hosts of COP26, we are asking all countries to work together to keep the path to 1.5 degrees alive.”
Laying out what success in Glasgow would look like, he replied: “We are asking all countries to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (short-term targets) and to make long-term targets in line with the 2050 goal. For this COP, we also need to flesh out some of the detail of the Paris Agreement on issues such as how carbon markets will operate in the future.”
Believing the developed nations should meet climate finance pledge of $100 billion a year, Ellis, who remembers his time fondly while trekking in the Himalayas and taking in the night sky in the desert near Jaisalmer, said Britain also wants to ensure that countries are supported in adapting to climate change and that developed countries deliver the climate finance and technology flows to support green economic transformation in developing countries.
On the world expectation from India, the diplomat told IANS that India under Modi is already taking impressive climate action — quadrupling wind and solar capacity in the last decade and now setting the 450GW target as well as launching the National Hydrogen Mission.
“Climate action must support development. India has already proved that it has the innovation and political will to follow a sustainable development path. India has already reduced the emissions intensity of its economy by 20 per cent compared to 2005 levels.
“So along with all countries, we are asking India to enhance their greenhouse gas target until 2030 and to set out a long-term strategy in line with the 1.5 degree goal.”
On calls to the developed nations to reduce their emissions, he was categorical in saying, “The developed countries need to set out ambitious targets on climate action, and as the COP Presidency, we are pressing them to do so.”
“India has a huge opportunity — to use new tech to pioneer a clean development path. Climate action must support growth. Most of the infrastructure for energy and other needs that India will need by 2040 is yet to be built.
“India can leapfrog ahead using clean tech to develop, rather than locking into more polluting and ultimately more expensive high carbon systems.”
At the same time, Ellis believes India is already on this path.
Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to install 450GW of renewable energy by 2030 is hugely impressive. “We realise that developed countries too have their role to play and that’s why the UK is pushing for COP26 to deliver the right flows of finance and technology to meet the needs of countries like India.”
To mark a show of leadership, US President Joe Biden will be travelling to Glasgow on November 1 to attend the UN climate summit — a pivotal moment on the road towards a more secure and sustainable future since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Also, Modi will be attending the climate talks that is expected to bring more than 120 world leaders together to discuss the best ways of tackling the climate crisis that the UN chief has called for a “massive mobilization” of political will that requires trust among the world’s biggest economies — the G20 — and between developed and developing countries, including emerging economies.
On expectation from the nations to come forward with national plans on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, an optimistic envoy replied: “We have already seen countries like the US and Japan pledging to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“The next decade will set a path for the net-zero future vision. The UK last week published its own detailed strategy for how we will meet our net zero by 2050 goal.”
Prime Minister Johnson’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution reinstates the UK’s commitment to build back better, support green jobs and accelerate the path to net-zero, he added.
The COP26 is the annual UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties.
This year COP, after missing 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is being held under the presidency of the UK in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city home to nearly 6,00,000 people, from October 31 to November 12.
The climate talks will bring together heads of state, climate experts and campaigners to agree coordinated action to tackle climate change.
India has been under pressure to declare either enhanced ambition or to declare net zero goals in the run-up to the annual climate change talks, the COP26, but it has so far maintained top secrecy, a report by Nivedita Khandekar
Just as it was the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the time of Paris COP in 2015, there is a strong possibility that India would go big about “green” hydrogen at this COP that starts on Sunday at the UK’s Glasgow.
India has been under pressure to declare either enhanced ambition or to declare net zero goals in the run-up to the annual climate change talks, the COP26, but it has so far maintained top secrecy, saying whatever is the country’s stance, it would be announced “at an appropriate time and appropriate place.”
The COP26, the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is to take place from October 31 till November 12 at the Scottish city of Glasgow where the world leaders and negotiators will deliberate actions to reduce carbon emissions to restrict the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to attend the High-Level segment on November 1 and 2 and so are the Ministers of Environment and Power on other days. Going beyond its committed 175 GW of renewable energy, India has already announced that it will pursue 450 GW of installed capacity of renewable energy by 2030.
The government has not, however, announced any break-up of this 450 GW target. There have been big ticket solar power plants across states, some already functional, some under-construction, so solar is a big part of this renewable energy basket. But it is now also certain that green hydrogen will occupy a pride of place in it.
“Modi is going to own up solar plants and green hydrogen in a big way,” a source, who has been involved in the energy sector, told IANS.
Another source from the development sector concurred.
“We are going to say something big about green hydrogen. We are trying to get some other countries on board – on the lines of the International Solar Alliance – for some kind of global consensus for an alliance on hydrogen. It is a technologically attractive option,” the source said.
India has already declared a National Hydrogen Mission in August this year. With this, it is looking at a great opportunity to cut down on fossil fuel-based chemicals, which are used to produce hydrogen.
“Today, hydrogen is made in all refineries, all fertiliser plants using natural gas. It is a fossil fuel, which means, sending out a lot of CO2 emission. Green hydrogen will help us cut that down,” the energy sector source said.
The government is planning to go phase-wise, for example, this Hydrogen mission is likely to give a mandate to progressively start giving 1 per cent dose in year one, then three per cent dose in year two and so on so forth, and then at the end of 2025 or 2030, whichever is decided, the target would be 10 per cent.
“That (10 per cent) is how a huge quantity of fossil fuel replaced. Green means the entire carbon footprint should be zero and hydrogen will help achieve that to a large extent,” the source said.
There are various ways to make green hydrogen without adding any carbon. If solar energy is used for the hydrogen making process, then the entire cycle becomes carbon free.
Earlier in September, stating that India has the potential to step in to meet not just India’s but global demand for green hydrogen, Union Earth Sciences and Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh had declared the aspirational goal of ‘Hydrogen 2-1-2’ wherein “2 means green hydrogen that would costs for less than $2 per kg; 1 means hydrogen storage plus distribution plus refueling cost less than $1 per kg, and the last 2 is for replacement of incumbent end-use technology with green hydrogen technology with ROI of less than 2 years”.
“Various options have been given to the PMO, all of them are under consideration. Some of these endorsements will find a way to this forum (COP),” said another source in the Environment Ministry.
In this decade, the whole economy of the world is to rest on hydrogen, and the “H2 economy” will bring in a paradigm change.
It is a continuously available material and totally renewable. One cannot store energy anywhere else except in hydrogen and batteries.
“This development – of announcing big on green hydrogen – would be greatly helpful in reducing import bills from batteries needed for storage in case of solar energy,” a consultant from the energy field said.
All eyes are now set to what Prime Minister Modi announces during the High-Level segment.
In total, 178 countries representing 79.3 per cent of global GHG emissions, plan to submit enhanced NDCs — up from just 75 countries in 2019. Of this group, 160 countries have strengthened their mitigation targets…reports Asian Lite News.
Vulnerable countries are stepping up amidst a slow response from some of the biggest emitters on the climate crisis, said a report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
The report released on Thursday ahead of the upcoming COP26 climate negotiations reveals that while 93 per cent of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) had submitted enhanced national climate pledges, or plan to do so, the G20 has been dragging its feet on adhering to the core principles of the Paris Agreement to “ratchet up” their climate ambition.
As the countries responsible for more than three-quarters of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the role of the G20 in combatting the climate crisis is significant.
However, three G20 members just submitted new pledges in the past few days — missing a key cut-off date of October 12 for inclusion in analysis of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that is meant to inform the UN climate talks beginning in Glasgow in a few days’ time.
In addition, of the 18 NDCs that have now been submitted by G20 members, many are heavily reliant on long-term targets and still lack meaningful near-term ambition that is needed to help prevent the disturbing rise in the global trajectory of current GHG emissions.
UNDP’s report, ‘The State of Climate Ambition’, is unique in that it provides a global assessment of both the pledges already submitted to the UNFCCC as well as ambition intentions of countries that are still planning to submit.
The new report also compares current trends against those that were assessed in the first NDC Global Outlook report in 2019.
The report shows that vulnerable countries, often home to the world’s poorest people who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, continue to be trailblazers on climate ambition, leaving richer countries lagging.
As of October 12, ambition intentions of LDCs and SIDS had risen significantly, with 93 per cent having submitted enhanced NDCs, or planning to do so (up from 42 per cent in 2019).
Looking only at intentions to reduce GHG emissions, 86 per cent of LDCs and SIDS intend to raise mitigation ambition (up from 40 per cent in 2019). However, the report warns that ultimately, this group of 78 countries is only responsible for seven per cent of global GHG emissions.
“These figures demonstrate that many developing countries across the world are leading the way for decisive climate action,” says Achim Steiner, UN Development Programme Administrator.
“Yet COP26 must be the moment where all nations rise to the challenge of climate change, especially high-emitters. As the window to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius narrows, this is our only pathway to secure the future of people and planet.”
Overall, the report does have some encouraging news. For example, it shows that the Paris Agreement’s ratchet mechanism is working, as most countries have abided by its key principle to revise and subsequently submit increasingly ambitious NDCs every five years.
In total, 178 countries representing 79.3 per cent of global GHG emissions, plan to submit enhanced NDCs — up from just 75 countries in 2019. Of this group, 160 countries have strengthened their mitigation targets.
Among the report’s other positive findings are the inclusive approaches adopted by a large majority of governments to update their national climate pledges.
The number of countries, large and small, prioritizing climate action and citizen engagement has never been higher, which is especially impressive in light of challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report also notes an uptick since 2019 in the number of countries preparing and submitting long-term strategies to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.
These commitments could help achieve the Paris Agreement goals, but require solid, credible strategies to back them up and better alignment with NDCs, the report warns.
