India set to exceed voluntary emissions-cut target
In its third biennial update report (BUR-III), submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recently, India declared that its emission intensity (per unit of GDP) had reduced by 24% between 2005 and 2016 and, therefore, it w...
NEW DELHI: India's carbon footprint has been consistently increasing in sync with its development needs but the country will eventually exceed what it had voluntarily pledged to the UN climate body with respect to its pre-2020 commitments.
In its third biennial update report (BUR-III), submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recently, India declared that its emission intensity (per unit of GDP) had reduced by 24% between 2005 and 2016 and, therefore, it was "on track to meet its voluntary declaration to reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 20-25% from 2005 levels by 2020".
BUR-III, carrying details of India's GHG inventory for 2016, showed that the country emitted 2.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases with the energy sector alone accounting for 75% of the total emissions. India had submitted it first BUR to the UNFCCC in 2016 and the second in 2018.
Analysis of India's three BURs presents an interesting trend, showing a consistent decline in the agriculture sector's share in total emissions since 2010. On the other hand, emissions from the energy sector has been growing while shares of industries and waste sectors remain constant.
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The agriculture sector is the main source of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Methane emissions occur from this sector mainly due to livestock rearing (enteric fermentation and manure management) and paddy cultivation, while N2O is principally emitted due to the application of fertilisers to agricultural soils. Judicious use of fertilisers, crop diversification and better manure management could be the reason for this decline.
In the energy sector, electricity production was the single largest source, accounting for about 40% of the national GHG emissions in 2016 while manufacturing industries and construction together emitted over 18% of total emissions. India is fourth in terms of overall global GHG emissions with China, the US and EU+UK being the top three. In terms of per capita emissions, India's figure is nearly one-third of the global average.
