Saving the Earth

A small part of humanity has ruthlessly exploited nature and the entire humanity is bearing the cost of it, says Modi, calling for all countries to join India on its Green Credit initiative

At the just concluded G-7 summit in Italy, where he was a Special Invitee, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted how India’s approach in the field of energy is based on four principles – availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability.

India is the first country to fulfil all the commitments made under COP before time. The COP (Conference of Parties), it may be noted, is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Indian Prime Minister said how India is making every effort to fulfil the country’s commitment to achieve the target of Net Zero by 2070.India is on the path of cutting the emissions intensity of India’s GDP by 45% and increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 50% by 2030, and achieving net zero by 2070.

“We should together try to make the time to come a Green Era. For this, India has started Mission LiFE i.e. Lifestyle For Environment. Taking this Mission forward, on 5 June, Environment Day, I have started a campaign – “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” (planting one tree in one’s mother’s name). Everyone loves their mother. With this feeling, we want to make tree plantation a mass movement with personal touch and global responsibility”, Modi told the G-7 leaders, who represent the Developed World.

It may be noted that Modi has been urging the developed countries for the last few years that they ought to be “vacating the carbon space” before 2050 . “A small part of humanity has ruthlessly exploited nature. But the entire humanity is bearing the cost of it, especially the inhabitants of the Global South. The selfishness of a few will lead the world into darkness, not just for themselves but for the entire world,” Modi has argued.

Modi has made a pitch for the world’s countries to join India on its “Green Credit initiative” which is a “non-commercial” effort to create a carbon sink. It has been conceptualized as a mechanism to incentivize voluntary pro-planet actions, as an effective response to the challenge of climate change. It envisions the issue of Green Credits for plantations on waste/degraded lands and river catchment areas, to rejuvenate and revive natural ecosystems.

As it is, Modi has pleaded in the past why countries must finalise a new target on climate finance. Called the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), this refers to ongoing negotiations on a new climate finance commitment that developed countries must make to developing countries to accelerate the world’s transition away from fossil fuels. The initial goal set in 2009, was to transfer nearly $100 billion a year to developing countries via the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Only a small fraction of this tranche was actually realised. The $100 billion commitment is set to expire in 2025.

According to Modi, new financial targets should not mean developed countries forget their commitments to the GCF and the Adaptation Fund, set up in 2001, which has so far raised money worth $800 million to create infrastructure in developing countries that will protect them from climate shocks. Multilateral Development Banks should work to ensure that affordable finance is made available to developing countries and developed countries should “eliminate” their carbon footprint before 2050, he argues.

Incidentally, last year Modi had offered to host the 33rd edition of the annual COP summit due in 2028 in India.

A proposal to host the COP must be approved by other signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Typically venues for future COP are only decided two years in advance. Were India to host the summit, it would be for the second time after 2002, when it hosted the 8th edition and the event used to be a relatively sombre affair with only small ministerial delegations in attendance.