Four days ahead of the Copenhagen climate meeting (see our Road to Copenhagen special), India has announced that it will reduce its carbon intensity – carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) – by 20-25 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level.
Last week, China’s State Council announced that the country will cut its carbon intensity by 40–45% from 2005 levels by 2020 (see China’s climate target: is it achievable?).
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told the parliament today that the country’s stand was worked out in concert with other developing countries, including China. He added that “India will not accept a legally-binding emission reduction cut, and it will not accept a peaking date on its emissions.”
That means that any emission reduction actions that India took would not be open to international review. However, “depending on concessions we can get from western countries, and in consultation with China, Brazil, South Africa and other countries in the G77, we can consider opening to international review all our mitigation actions supported by international finances”.
Ramesh said the 20-25 percent emissions intensity cut had been worked out on the basis of a low-carbon growth strategy from 2012. The strategy consists of:
- Mandatory fuel efficiency standards for all vehicles
- A building code that encouraged energy conservation,
- legislation to reduce energy intensity of industrial activities;
- Regular monitoring of the state of the forests,
- clean coal technologies
Posted on behalf of K. S. Jayaraman