At COP28, India’s national statement has no direct reference to fossil fuel cuts

Union environment, forest and climate change minister Bhupender Yadav carefully refrained from mentioning the word ‘fossil fuel cuts’ on December 9 at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai.

‘Fossil fuel cuts’ is a term that has gradually turned out to be a major debating point at the summit. But it was not there in the 567-word national statement. Instead, Yadav showcased a series of initiatives in his address to counter the allegation that India is not doing enough to cut emissions caused by usage of fossil fuels.

“In our endeavour to decouple economic growth from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, India has successfully reduced the emission intensity vis-à-vis its GDP by 33 per cent between 2005 and 2019, thus achieving the initial NDC target for 2030, 11 years ahead of the scheduled time,” said the minister in his address.

“India has also achieved 40 per cent of electric installed capacity through non-fossil fuel sources, nine years ahead of the target for 2030. Between 2017 and 2023, India has added around 100 GW of installed electric capacity, of which around 80 per cent is attributed to non-fossil fuel-based resources,” he further added.

The minister added that India has now finalised its third national communication based on the GHG inventory of 2019, along with initial adaptation communication. He claimed that “it underscores our consistent contribution towards climate action while also prioritising the development and well-being of our people.”

The Indian minister said the resource mobilisation under the ‘New Collective Quantified Goal’, to be put into place next year, must be guided by the needs and requirements of developing countries.

Project LIFE and Green Credit 

Yadav referred to the favourite projects of Prime Minister Modi during his address and indirectly urged leaders to consider them as part of a global climate solution.

“The call given to the global community by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi to join Mission LiFE — Lifestyle for Environment — bears testimony to India’s action-oriented approach. Furthering the ideals of Mission LiFE, India launched the Green Credit Initiative here at COP28 on December 1, to create a participatory global platform for exchange of innovative environmental programmes and instruments,” read the statement.

The Indian environment minister also claimed that the country has been “at the forefront of supporting action-oriented steps at the global level in response to climate change”.   

'India could have been much more forthright'

Environment activists present at COP28 said India could have been much more proactive on the fossil fuel issue, rather than avoiding it. The avoidance, according to them, can put India into a defensive corner.

“India is being cautious to not get caught in the trap being laid by developed countries about shifting the burden on developing countries. There are efforts being made to push only the phaseout of coal, which is the current primary source of energy security for developing countries. For a fair phaseout, developed countries should take the lead by committing to phase out oil and gas as well,” said Sanjay Vashist, director of civil society platform Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) to this reporter in Dubai.

“There is no point in avoiding the decision on phasing out fossil fuels, as it is a make-or-break issue at the Dubai COP. Instead, India must demand that developed countries shun oil and gas, not just push developing countries to phase out coal,” noted Harjeet Singh, the head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International.

Experts point out that India is in a strong position regarding its climate action. This includes emissions as the recently released report on the Climate Change Performance Index shows India is fourth-best among the assessed countries. The global carbon budget report points out that the emission growth from oil and gas taken together, in terms of percentage rise, has been around double that of coal.    

“Part of the Global North is painting India as a villain on fossil fuel emissions. India should have responded to it more directly, more so as it has ample ammunition to do so,” said another climate expert.

“Fossil fuels are not included under the Paris Agreement and hence cannot be debated,” said a senior Indian official to this reporter on December 9. “May be not directly, but there are several indirect references to fossil fuels. If it is not there, why did India agree to phase down coal after a long negotiation at COP26 in Glasgow?” counter questioned a climate expert present in Dubai. 

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