India was ranked seventh among the list of countries most affected byclimate change in 2019.[1] India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt)CO2eq ofgreenhouse gases each year; about two and a half tons per person, which is less than the world average.[2] The country emits 7% of global emissions, despite having 17% of the world population.[3] Theclimate change performance index of India ranks eighth among 63 countries which account for 92% of all GHG emissions in the year 2021.[4]
Temperature rises on theTibetan Plateau are causingHimalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening the flow rate of theGanges,Brahmaputra,Yamuna and other major rivers. A 2007World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that theIndus River may run dry for the same reason.[5] Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states asAssam.[6]Heat waves' frequency and intensity are increasing in India because of climate change.[7] Temperatures in India have risen by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F) between 1901 and 2018.[8]
According to some current projections, the number and severity ofdroughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century.[9]
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Greenhouse gas emissions byIndia are the third largest in the world and the main source is coal.[12] India emitted 2.8 Gt ofCO2eq in 2016 (2.5 includingLULUCF).[13][14] 79% were CO2, 14% methane and 5%nitrous oxide.[14] India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt)CO2eq ofgreenhouse gases each year; about two tons per person,[15] which is half the world average.[2] The country emits 7% of global emissions.[3]
In India in 2023, emissions increased by 190 million tonnes due to strong GDP growth and reducedhydroelectricity production following a weak monsoon, with itsper capita emissions remaining significantly below the global average.[16]
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and thereforeair pollution in India, would have health benefits worth 4 to 5 times the cost, which would be the most cost-effective in the world.[17]
TheParis Agreement commitments included a reduction of this intensity by 33–35% by 2030.[18] India's annual emissions per person are less than the global average,[19] and theUNEP forecasts that by 2030 they will be between 3 and 4 tonnes.[3]
In 2019China is estimated to have emitted 27% of world GhG, followed by the US with 11%, then India with 6.6%.[20]
TheIndian national carbon trading scheme may be created in 2026.[21]
As of September 2021 India generates 39.8% of its electricity fromrenewable energy sources and 60.2% of its electricity fromfossil fuels of which 51% is generated from coal.[22]
As well ascoal mining in India, the country also imports coal[23] to burn incoal-fired power stations in India. New plants are unlikely to be built, old and dirty plants may be shut down and more coal may be burnt in the remaining plants.[24]
Switching from traditional fuels toliquefied petroleum gas and electricity provides health and climate benefits.[25]
The industrial sector, including the production of cement,[26] iron, and steel,[27] is a major contributor to global emissions, accounting for about a quarter of the total.[28] From 2000 to 2014, fuel consumption in this sector surged by 406%,[18] reflecting its rapid expansion and escalating energy demand. By 2014, the industry was also responsible for 42% of total energy consumption,[18] highlighting the significant environmental impacts associated with industrial activities. India, the world's second-largest steel producer, accounts for 7% of global crude steel production. With rising domestic demand, emissions from this sector could significantly increase. Implementing standards for low and near-zero emissions steel is crucial to mitigate this risk. These standards facilitate essential policies and mechanisms such as procurement, financing,carbon pricing, and emissions trading systems, which are key in supporting India's transition tonet-zero emissions and reducing theenvironmental impacts of its industrial sector.[29]
Agricultural emissions increased 25% between 2005 and 2014, in part due to significant increases in the use of artificial fertilizers and the burning of crops.[18]
Waste emitted 78 Mt ofCO2eq in 2014.[27]
Temperatures in India have risen by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F) between 1901 and 2018, thereby changing theclimate in India.[33]
In May 2022 severe heatwave was recorded in Pakistan and India. The temperature reached 51 °C. Climate change makes such heatwaves 100 times more likely. Without climate change heatwaves, more severe that those who occurred in 2010 are expected to arrive 1 time in 312 years. Now they are expected to occur every 3 years.[34]
A 2018 study projects droughts to increase in Northern and North-western India in the near future. Around the end of the century, most parts of India will likely face more and more severe droughts.[35]
Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam.[6]
Meghalaya and other northeastern states are concerned that rising sea levels will submerge much of Bangladesh and spawn a refugee crisis. If severe climate changes occurs, Bangladesh and parts of India that border it may lose vast tracts of coastal land.[36]: 130
Thousands of people have been displaced by ongoing sea level rises that have submerged low-lying islands in theSundarbans.[37]
Temperature rises on theTibetan Plateau are causingHimalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening theflow rate of theGanga,Brahmaputra,Yamuna, and other major rivers; the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of farmers depend on these rivers.[38] A 2007World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that theIndus River may run dry for the same reason.[5]
Meghalaya, meaning 'Abode of the Clouds' inHindi &Sanskrit alike—is home to the towns ofCherrapunji andMawsynram, which are credited with being the wettest places in the world due to their high rainfall. But scientists state that global climate change is causing these areas to experience an increasingly sparse and erratic rainfall pattern and a lengthened dry season,[39] affecting the livelihoods of thousands of villagers who cultivate paddy and maize. Meghalaya faced water crises in 2023 and 2025.[40][41]
Ecological disasters, such as a 1998coral bleaching event that killed off more than 70% of corals in the reef ecosystems offLakshadweep and theAndamans and was brought on by elevated ocean temperatures tied to global warming, are also projected to become increasingly common.[42][43]
India has the world's highestsocial cost of carbon.[44] A report by the London-based global think tankOverseas Development Institute found that India may lose anywhere around 3–10% of its GDP annually by 2100 and its poverty rate may rise by 3.5% in 2040 due to climate change.[45][46]
Climate Change in India will have a disproportionate impact on the more than 400 million that makeup India's poor community. This is because so many depend on natural resources for their food, shelter and income. More than 56% of people in India work in agriculture, while many others earn their living in coastal areas.[47]
The impact of climate change onIndian agriculture was investigated through the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) study. The findings indicate that rainfed rice yields in India are expected to experience a marginal reduction of less than 2.5% in the years 2050 and 2080. On the other hand, irrigated rice yields are projected to decline by 7% in 2050 and 10% in 2080 scenarios. Moreover, the study forecasts a decrease in wheat yield ranging from 6% to 25% in the year 2100, while maize yields are estimated to decrease by 18% to 23% during the same period. However, there is a potential positive impact on chickpea, with anticipated productivity increases of 23% to 54% in the future climates.[48]
Air pollution, which reflects sunlight, and irrigation, which cools the air by evaporation, have counteractedclimate change since 1970. These two factors do however increase the impact of heat waves, as both lead to increased mortality.[49]
Heat waves' frequency and power are increasing in India because of climate change. In 2019, the temperature reached 50.6 degrees Celsius, 36 people were killed. The high temperatures are expected to impact 23 states in 2019, up from nine in 2015 and 19 in 2018. The number of heat wave days has increased—not just day temperature, night temperatures increased also. 2018 was the country's sixth hottest year on record, and 11 of its 15 warmest years have occurred since 2004. The capitalNew Delhi broke its all-time record with a high of 48 °C (118.4 °F).[50]
In India, exposure to heat waves is said to increase by 8 times between 2021 and 2050, and by 300% by the end of this century. The number of Indians exposed to heat waves increased by 200% from 2010 to 2016. Heat waves also affect farm labour productivity. The heat waves affect central and northwestern India the most, and the eastern coast andTelangana have also been affected. In 2015, the latter places witnessed at least 2500 deaths. In 2016, for the first time in history,Kerala reported a heat wave. The government is being advised by theIndian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in predicting and mitigating heat waves. The government ofAndhra Pradesh, for instance, is creating a Heat Wave Action Plan.[51]
The death toll from India's heat waves has decreased in the last four years. More than 2,000 people died in2015, 375 in 2017 and 20 in 2018. "Officials say this is because the government has made an effort to reduce the death toll by encouraging residents to reduce or alter the time spent working on hot days and by providing free drinking water to hard-hit populations". It also used water to cool streets and forced police to guard water tankers inMadhya Pradesh state after fights over supply turned deadly. Those measures cost a lot of money and water, and the government's resources were limited in 2019 by the country's national election. The heat wave may continue, as monsoon rains have been delayed this year.[52][needs update]
Around seven million people are projected to be displaced due to, among other factors, submersion of parts ofMumbai andChennai, if global temperatures were to rise by 2 °C (3.6 °F).[53]
By the year 2050, India is expected to witness a significant increase in climate-related displacement, with around 45 million people compelled to migrate from their homes due to climate disasters. This number is three times higher than the current count of individuals being displaced because of extreme weather events. According to the State of India's Environment-2022 report,India ranks as the fourth worst-affected country globally in terms of climate change-induced migration, with over three million people forced to abandon their residences in the year 2020-2021. These statistics emphasize the escalating impact of climate change on migration patterns within the country.[54]
Villagers in India's North Eastern state ofMeghalaya are also concerned that rising sea levels will submerge neighboring low-lyingBangladesh, resulting in an influx of refugees into Meghalaya which has few resources to handle such a situation.[55][56]
Land use, land-use change, and forestry absorbed 300 Mt ofCO2eq in 2014[27] and in 2020 total carbon stored in forests was 7000 Mt.[57]
The National Energy Plan is in accord with theParis Agreement target of 2 °C global warming, but if India stopped building coal-fired power stations it would meet the 1.5 °C aspiration.[58] India pledged to achieve electric power generation of 40% percent non-fossil fuel energy by 2030.[18]
In its Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) submitted in February, India said it has progressively continued decoupling of economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. India'semission intensity of gross domestic product (GDP) has reduced by 24% between 2005 and 2016. India is therefore on track to meet its voluntary declaration to reduce theemission intensity of GDP by 20–25% from 2005 levels by 2020, making India the onlyG20 nation to meet climate goals.[59]
India'sIntended Nationally Determined Contribution includes reducingemission intensity by a third by 2030.[12] India has adequate carbon neutral resources such as biomass, wind, solar, hydro power includingpumped storage, etc. to achieve net zero carbon emissions.[60][61]
With accelerated coal plant closures, and an anticipated surge in renewables, thermal power will account for only an estimated 42.7% of installed capacity across India by 2027, down dramatically from 66.8% in 2017.[62]
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and thereforeair pollution in India, would have health benefits worth 4 to 5 times the cost, which would be the most cost-effective in the world.[17]
India has made significant strides in theenergy sector and the country is now a global leader inrenewable energy.[63]
The Indian Government as well as various state governments have taken certain steps in accordance with India's energy policy and theParis Agreement. Following are some of those steps:
In 2008, India published itsNational Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which contains several goals for the country. These goals include but are not limited to: covering one third of the country with forests and trees, increasing renewable energy supply to 6% of total energy mix by 2022, and the further maintenance ofdisaster management. All of the actions work to improve the resiliency of the country as a whole, and this proves to be important because India has an economy closely tied to its natural resource base and climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, and forestry.[65]
While presenting the fiscal year 2020-2021 state budget for the Indian state ofOdisha, the then Finance Minister of the stateNiranjan Pujari introduced the Climate Budget.[66] Climate budget aims to keep track of the expenses made by the government for climate change or to support mitigation and adaption actions to address climate change. As per the document, It will help the government to decide whether to redesign or safeguard the existing projects by seeing their impact on the climate change.[67] Odisha has become the first state in India to introduce climate budget.[68]
Niti Aayog is in the process of devising a policy framework and its deployment mechanism in India for carbon capture and utilization or storage (CCUS) to reduce greenhouse emissions per unit of economic activity.[69]
The right to be free from adverse impacts of climate change was legally recognized as a fundamental right in India by theSupreme Court, in 2024. This decision can impact further climate legislation in India.[70]
For achieving the aims of theParis agreement India must peak power sector emissions by 2026. Until recently the country was expected to reach this target, but the recent governmental push for coal undermined it.[71]
Carbon emission trading is yet to be implemented in India. However, related instruments such as energy saving certificates (PAT), various renewable purchase obligations (RPO), and renewable energy certificates (REC) are traded on the power exchanges regularly.[72][73]
India does not have acarbon tax, but since 2010 the country has had a tax on both domestically produced and imported coal, which powers more than half of its electricity generation.[74] Originally set at₹50 (59¢ US) per tonne of coal, it was raised to ₹100 in 2014[75] and ₹200 in 2015. As of 2020 the coal tax stands at₹400 (US$4.70) per tonne.[76]
_to_discuss_the_post_Copenhagen_scenario_on_Climate_Change%2c_in_New_Delhi_on_January_24%2c_2010.jpg)
As a party to theParis Agreement India is due to submit its first biennial transparency report to theUNFCCC by 2024 and inventory figures in standard format.[77] In September 2021 India announced that it will submit a newNationally Determined Contribution beforeCOP26.[78] At COP26, India set the latest target date planning to be net-zero by 2070.[79][80][81] This was the first time in that a date forcarbon neutrality has been given as part of India's climate policy.[82]
AtCOP26 Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced 5 main commitments calledPanchamrit – "India's gift to the world":
The prime minister also proposed to advance a new agenda: LIFE - Lifestyle for Environment, meaning changing lifestyle for benefit the environment.[83]
Even though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the US and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action.[84]
Anice stupa designed bySonam Wangchuk brings glacial water to farmers in the Himalayan Desert ofLadakh, India.[85]
A research project conducted between 2014 and 2018 in the five districts (Puri,Khordha,Jagatsinghpur,Kendrapara andBhadrak) ofMahanadi Delta, Odisha and two districts (North andSouth 24 Parganas) ofIndian Bengal Delta (includes theIndian Sundarbans), West Bengal provides evidence on the kinds ofadaptations practiced by the delta dwellers. In the Mahanadi delta, the top three practiced adaptations were changing the amount of fertiliser used in the farm, the use of loans, and planting of trees around the homes. In the Indian Bengal Delta, the top three adaptations were changing the amount of fertiliser used in the farm, making changes to irrigation practices, and use of loans. Migration as an adaptation option is practiced in both these deltas but is not considered as a successful adaptation.[86]
In the Indian Sundarbans of West Bengal, farmers are cultivating salt-tolerant rice varieties which have been revived to combat the increasing issue of soil salinity. Other agricultural adaptations include mixed farming, diversifying crops, rain water harvesting, drip irrigation, use of neem-based pesticide, and ridge and farrow land shaping techniques where "the furrows help with drainage and the less-saline ridges can be used to grow vegetables". These have helped farmers to grow a second crop of vegetables besides the monsoon paddy crop.[87]
In Puri district of Odisha, water logging is a hazard that affects people yearly. In the Totashi village, many women are turning the water logging in their fields to their advantage by cultivating vegetables in the waterlogged fields and boosting their family income and nutrition.[88]
Education is an integral tool that can be used in the adaptation of the measures that have been put in place to curb climate change. When considering the adaptation of measures that have been established to curb climate change, it is important to ensure that the education system has been included in such a project. By improving people's knowledge of climate change, it would be easier for them to adopt different mitigation measures. Also, there is a need to instill a culture among the younger generation on the best practices when it comes to environmental matters. The government must seek to ensure that systems that support learning, which undergirds adaptation are supported to enhance adaptation.
A qualitative analysis of some mainstreamIndian newspapers (particularly opinion and editorial pieces) during the release of theIPCC 4th Assessment Report and during theNobel Peace Prize win byAl Gore and the IPCC found thatIndian media strongly pursue the frame ofscientific certainty in their coverage of climate change.[89] This is in contrast to theskepticism displayed byAmerican newspapers at the time. Alongside, Indian media highlight frames of energy challenge, social progress, public accountability and looming disaster. This sort of coverage finds parallels in European media narratives as well and helps build a transnational, globalized discourse on climate change.[90] Another study has found that the media in India are divided along the lines of a north–south, risk-responsibility discourse.[91][clarification needed][obsolete source]
%2c_Shri_Prakash_Javadekar%2c_in_New_Delhi._The_Secretary.jpg)
Calculations in 2021 showed that, for giving the world a 50% chance of avoiding a temperature rise of 2 degrees or more India should increase its climate commitments by 55%.[92]: Table 1 For a 95% chance it should increase the commitments by 147%. For giving a 50% chance of staying below 1.5 degrees India should increase its commitments by 191%.[92]
There have beenschool strikes for climate organised by activists such asDisha Ravi.[93]
Tribal people in India's remote northeast planned to honor formerU.S. Vice PresidentAl Gore in 2007 with an award for promoting awareness on climate change that they say will have a devastating impact on their homeland.[94]
In 2005, theDandakaranya Movement, a tree planting campaign, was started by Indian politicianBalasaheb Thorat, as part of the UN Environment Program'sBillion Tree Campaign. They had planted 90 million seeds as of 2007[update].[95]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Medium-range estimates of Arctic carbon emissions could result from moderate climate emission mitigation policies that keep global warming below 3°C (e.g., RCP4.5). This global warming level most closely matches country emissions reduction pledges made for the Paris Climate Agreement...
"The IPCC doesn't make projections about which of these scenarios is more likely, but other researchers and modellers can.The Australian Academy of Science, for instance, released a report last year stating that our current emissions trajectory had us headed for a 3°C warmer world, roughly in line with the middle scenario.Climate Action Tracker predicts 2.5 to 2.9°C of warming based on current policies and action, with pledges and government agreements taking this to 2.1°C.
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