PHOTO: INDIANEXPRESS
NEW DELHI: India, the world's third biggest carbon emitter, is "confident" it can reduce its emissions intensity by at least 35 percent by 2030, its environment minister said on Friday.
"It is a huge jump for India, therefore it is a very ambitious target," Prakash Javadekar told a press conference after the government submitted to the UN a new plan for tackling climate change, ahead of a major environment conference in Paris in November.
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India made the pledge to cut emissions intensity - the ratio of a country's carbon emissions to its economic output - as part of its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs, in a document published on a UN website early Friday.
It also committed to generating 40 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2030.
"We are much too dependent on fossil fuels now," Javadekar said, describing the new goals as "comprehensive, ambitious and progressive".
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The new goals would take India's capacity for renewable energy by 2030 to more than double the 175,000 megawatts currently targeted, to reduce crippling blackouts and bring power to the more than 300 million Indians currently living without electricity.
"Despite huge developmental challenges, India has put forward a climate action plan that is far superior to ones proposed by the US and EU," Sandeep Chachra, ActionAid India's Executive Director, said.
"The ambitious focus on energy efficiency and dramatic increase in renewable energy deserves credit but must lead to enhanced energy access for the poor," he said.
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