- A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has revealed that India’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by 4.8% in 2018 from last year. The growth in emissions was higher than that of the United States and China. The rise in emissions has been attributed to increased coal consumption.
- Globally, carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.7% in 2018 from last year. This increase was led by higher energy consumption driven by high electricity demand amidst poor improvement in energy efficiency.
- IEA report has noted that India’s per capita emissions were about 40% of the global average. It contributed 7% to the global carbon dioxide burden. United States emerged as the largest emitter and contributed 14% to the global carbon dioxide burden.
- As per its commitment to the Paris climate Change Agreement, India had promised to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level. It had also committed to increase total cumulative electricity generation from fossil free energy sources to 40% by 2030. However, the IEA report has noted that India’s energy intensity (units of energy per unit of GDP) improvement declined 3% from 2017 despite a 10.6% increase in renewable energy installations.
- The Paris climate change agreement is an international agreement with the framework of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). It seeks to combat climate change and accelerate the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future
- The UNFCCC, signed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, seeks to address the problem of climate change. It is the foundational climate agreement that has provided the platform for most subsequent international climate agreements such as Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.
- The International Energy Agency (IEA), founded in 1974, is an autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD. The IEA advocates policies to facilitate enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy in its 30 member countries and beyond.
