Increasing the total area of forest is crucial for India to meet its Intended nationally determined contributions under the ambit of Paris agreement 2015. Analyse (200 Words)
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
· India, as part of its contribution to the global fight against climate change, has committed itself to creating an “additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent” by 2030.
· The other targets relate to an improvement in emissions intensity, and an increase in renewable energy deployment. India has said it would reduce its emissions intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) by 33% to 35% by 2030 compared to 2005.
· It has also promised to ensure that at least 40% of its cumulative electricity generation in 2030 would be done through renewable energy.
· Forests, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for the process of photosynthesis, act as a natural sink of carbon.
· Together with oceans, forests absorb nearly half of global annual carbon dioxide emissions. An increase in the forest area is thus one of the most effective ways of reducing the emissions that accumulate in the atmosphere every year.
· It is estimated that India’s tree cover outside of forests would contribute another couple of billion of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
· An additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of sink, as India has promised to do, would mean taking the size of the sink close to 35 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
· India’s emissions intensity target uses a 2005 baseline, so there is an argument that the forest target should also have the same baseline.
· But there is a strong demand for a 2015 baseline as well, so that it results in some concrete progress in adding new forest cover. When India announced its NDC in 2015, it did not mention the baseline year. It has to decide on it before it reconfirms its NDC targets ahead of the next climate change meeting in Glasgow towards the end of the year.
Shantanu tiwari 5 years
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IAS Parliament 5 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
Akira 5 years
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IAS Parliament 5 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
