Lack of financial support would force India to temper its climate targets: Economic Survey

It further said the inadequate availability of money may force countries like India to rethink their climate action plans.

“The funding shortfall may lead to a reworking of the climate targets. Considering that domestic resources will be the key to action, resources for meeting development challenges may be affected, undermining progress toward sustainable development objectives and compromising the integrity of international climate partnerships,” the Survey said.

Like last year, the Economic Survey made a fresh argument for prioritising adaptation actions over emissions reductions.

“While greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a global bad and the benefits of mitigation are diffused, vulnerable developing countries such as India have to bear a disproportionate burden of climate change and have no choice but to face the climate change consequence of historical emissions. The emissions remain with us. They impose huge costs on already resource-constrained countries,” it said.

“Hence, vulnerable developing countries such as India need to undertake climate adaptation on an urgent footing as this has a direct impact on lives, livelihoods and the economy. Furthermore, these adaptation measures should be tailored to regional specificities, given India’s significant diversity of geographic and agro-climatic conditions,” it further said.

Going by the Paris Agreement, India, like other countries, has to submit its climate action plan for 2035 this year. As of now, countries have submitted, and are acting on, achieving targets outlined in their climate plans for 2030. The Paris Agreement asks every country to periodically increase the ambition of their climate targets, in five-year cycles.

As per its climate plan for 2030, India has committed itself to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy (emissions per unit of GDP) by 45 per cent from 2005 levels, ensure that at least 50 per cent of its installed electricity capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources, and increase the capacity of its forests to absorb carbon dioxide by at least 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes.

The Economic Survey said the decision in Baku showed the unwillingness of the developed countries to fulfill their obligations under the international climate architecture.

“It underscores the unwillingness of affluent developed nations to assume their equitable share of the responsibility to address emission reduction and mitigate climate change impacts on vulnerable populations in developing regions. The goal contravenes equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility in the global climate response by disproportionately placing the burdens of climate change on those nations that have not historically contributed to the crisis,” it said.