India only G20 nation well on track to achieve Paris agreement goal

New Delhi: India's efforts in mainstreaming sustainability and reducing carbon footprint should inspire countries across the world, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Tuesday, while pointing out that India is the only G20 nation well on track to achieve the goals mentioned under the Paris Agreement.

Addressing 'Schneider Innovation India summit 2021' virtually, Kant said India introduced the faster adoption of electric mobility policy which is facilitating India's transition to clean mobility. "Our efforts in mainstreaming sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint should inspire countries across the world," he said. Kant mentioned that when "we talk of sustainability, and a future which is cleaner and greener, one cannot ignore the dangers posed by climate change."

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on climate change's first major scientific assessment since 2014 shows an unequivocally that global warming is unfolding more quickly than feared and that humanity is almost entirely to blame. Noting that independent studies rate India's efforts highly compliant with the requirements under UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, he said, "A coalition of 14 global think tanks has rated that India is the only G20 that has 1.5 degrees Celsius compliant policies."

Under the Paris agreement, the goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degree Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.Also, Kant pointed out that India for the first time has been ranked amongst the top 10 countries in the climate change performance index. He said when it comes to roads, a sector which contributes to 90 per cent of emissions from the transport sector, India is moving towards electric mobility rapidly.

Kant added that the vast scale of data and the massive digital footprint is the country's biggest strength for the technological leapfrogging in artificial intelligence and machine learning development.