PM Modi: India will not only achieve Paris Agreement targets, but will exceed them

Saying that the country had already reduced its carbon emissions intensity by 21 percent as compared to 2005, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India would exceed its Paris Agreement goals.

Speaking at the Climate Ambition Summit 2020 on Saturday, he further said that the signatories should not lose sight of the climate goals.

A total of 77 world leaders addressed the summit — hosted jointly by the UK COP26 Presidency along with the United Nations (UN) and France, in partnership with Italy and Chile, to mark the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement.

“This summit marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement – the most ambitious step in our fight against Climate Change. Today, as we are looking to set our sights even higher, we must also not lose sight of the past. We must not only revise our ambitions, but also review our achievements against targets already set…” said Prime Minister Modi.

“Our solar capacity has grown from 2.63 GigaWatts (GW) in 2014 to 36GW in 2020. Our renewable energy capacity is the fourth largest in the world. It will reach 175 GW before 2022. And, we have an even more ambitious target now — 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. We have also succeeded in expanding our forest cover and safeguarding our biodiversity… To all my fellow residents of this planet, I make a solemn pledge today. Centennial India will not only meet its own targets, but will also exceed your expectations,” he added.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said enough was not being done to meet the climate change challenge.

Meanwhile host UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that last week, the UK has decided to reduce its emissions by at least 68 per cent by 2030.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.