Question – What is a nationally determined contribution (INDC)? Under this, describe the quantitative targets set by India.

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Question – What is a nationally determined contribution (INDC)? Under this, describe the quantitative targets set by India. – 21 April

Answer –

Recently, a study has shown that, if trees are planted on 0.9 billion hectare area in the world, it will be able to reduce emissions of two-thirds of the world’s greenhouse gas. In this way, severe negative effects of climate change on the world can be eliminated or avoided, but afforestation is often not preferred in global and national policies.

The Conference on Climate Change (COP-21) was held in Paris in the year 2015, under the UNFCCC. In this conference, each of the countries promised to make efforts to tackle the global problem related to climate change on the basis of their capacity through nationally determined contribution (NDC).

India’s Nationally Determined Contribution

• Under the Paris Agreement, the concept of Nationally Determined Contribution is proposed, in which each nation is expected to voluntarily set emission targets for itself.
• The unconditional implementation and comparative operation of Nationally Determined Contributions –NDCs, will result in a temperature increase of about 2⁰ C by the year 2100 relative to prior industrial levels. But if there is a conditional implementation of the nationally determined contributions, it will be reduced by at least 0.2%.
• Fossil fuels and cement production contribute 70% to greenhouse gases. Several reports state that there is a wide gap between the target emission levels of 2030 and the routes adopted to achieve the 2⁰ C and 5⁰ C targets.

Target by 2030

• India aims to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by one-third in GDP by 2030.
• The goal is to achieve 40 percent of the total electricity generation from non-fossil fuels.
• By 2030, India has also promised to build 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon sinks by increasing the additional forest and tree cover. A carbon sink refers to the creation of a capacity by which carbon dioxide is absorbed in the same proportion by the environment.

What can be done globally?

• To reduce forest loss and forest degradation, initiate and support international efforts, including the New York Declaration on Forests. This announcement aims to halve the global natural forest loss by 2020 and eliminate this loss by 2030.
• Under the Bonn Challenge, the condition of forests of 150 million hectares by the year 2020, and 350 million hectares by the year 2030 has to be improved.
• It can reduce CO₂ equivalent to 1.7 gig tons when it reaches its target of 350 million hectares.
• The concept of rights based land use enhances the role of community in land use. The relationship between forest and community is capable of poverty alleviation, women empowerment, increasing biodiversity and increasing the sustainability of forests.
• Programs like Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) are being carried forward. With this program, developing countries will be able to ensure better use of their resources. At the same time, local communities will also get benefit through this.

Forests provide the most effective solution to mitigate the effects of climate change. About 2.6 billion tones of CO2, which is one-third of the CO2 released by fossil fuels, are absorbed by the forests every year. Keeping this fact in mind, increasing forest cover and maintaining it is important from the point of view of the solution of climate change.