Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, says India is not only meeting its climate commitments, but also taking the lead in forming global alliances for climate action. During an interaction at the BT India’s Most Sustainable Companies Summit & Awards, Yadav said the government is ensuring ease of doing business for the country’s wealth creators, alongside meeting the energy and development aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Edited excerpts:
Q: How is India’s environmental journey progressing?
A: There are three aspects of climate change. First, there is climate change, second biodiversity loss and third desertification. As far as the Indian government’s international commitment and mitigation measures are concerned, after the Paris Agreement in 2016, it was agreed that every country would provide its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). We gave eight NDCs, of which three were quantitative.
Among these the first was reducing carbon emission intensity along with economic growth. Second, moving towards renewable energy. And third, increasing our carbon sink. India achieved the 2030 targets of reducing carbon emissions and increasing the capacity of renewables nine years before the target in 2021 itself.
As far as desertification is concerned, the biggest problem in the world today is that the amount of fertilisers being used in agriculture is making the land barren. It is also believed to cause diseases like cancer. When we went to the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, we said that we have implemented the biggest adaptation programme. That we have given soil health cards to 290 million farmers. It allows farmers to assess the strength of their land and apply fertilisers accordingly. We said we are moving towards natural farming.
And it is not that India talks of carrying it forward on its own. To increase the use of renewable energy in the world, we know that there should be collaboration with other countries that have access to this technology. There should be capacity building. Expert knowledge should be shared. So, India created the International Solar Alliance. In the past 10 years, we have tirelessly worked on mitigation, adaptation, and climate action programmes.
Q: There is a continued dependence on the West for climate finance and technology. What is your view?
A: Firstly, our civilization is an energy-based one. From railways to rockets, from factory production to agriculture, our entire life is based on energy. But the energy that we consume leads to carbon emissions. Be it our vehicles, industry, or refrigerator, ultimately they are all connected to us and emit pollutants. In such a situation, whoever invents the technology we use or profits from that technology has a social responsibility.
We have been saying repeatedly that the western countries accounted for a large share of the carbon emissions responsible for raising the earth’s temperature. The world can be saved by only two things. First, the right technology should be transferred to all the developing countries. Second, finance should be made available to them to adopt the technology. Developed countries have a responsibility, and more than that they have their own commitments made at the COP of providing $100 billion. Some years ago, a report said developing countries need a minimum of $5 trillion to combat climate change.
Q: US has gone back on its climate commitments. How do you think this will impact the developing world?
A: We are part of the global climate change negotiations. We always tell the developed countries that the progress they have made in this century has been at the cost of developing countries. Climate finance is their commitment, and they should honour it. As far as India is concerned, we are not disappointed because we follow the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India will become a part of the solution regarding climate in the world. It will not become a part of the problem.
Q: Can self-reliance save the country from the need for finance and technology?
A: All the adaptation programmes we have run till now have been operated with domestic resources. Even the capacity that we have acquired in renewables, we have built with domestic resources. Besides, there are other measures that we are taking. In the last Union Budget, the government proposed building small modular nuclear power plants. That is yet another step forward in the direction of mitigation.
We achieved our NDC target, we also announced a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. India is growing with such determination that today we have become the fourth-largest economy under the leadership of the Prime Minister. We understand our responsibility and the role we have to play and we will take those efforts forward.
Q: India has faced criticism over its 2070 Net Zero target despite its low emission share. What’s your view?
A: Yes, we are the fourth-largest polluter in the world. Let us assume our share in carbon emissions is 4.5%. But we constitute 17% of the world’s population. I will not name all the developed countries, but countries in Europe also account for 17% of the global population. If we add their cumulative carbon emissions it comes up to 60% of the world’s total. How then are we among the biggest?
My point is that despite being the fourth-largest polluter in the world, we are even below Ethiopia in terms of per capita emissions because that is our lifestyle. Our per capita plastic consumption is 35 kg and Europe’s is 100 kg. We are effecting changes in the consumption pattern of our people even with such a large population. We have to fulfil our responsibilities. And we have also said on the fight against fossil fuel, that the principle of common and differentiated responsibility is subject to poverty alleviation. If any country has to progress today, access to energy will have to be provided to all its people. There should be a right to energy. An electric bulb will have to be lit in the house of every person in every village, hut, or tribal settlement if you want to give people a dignified life. How can we stop doing that?
Q: What role can the corporate sector play in achieving environment targets?
A: We should not just assign compliance responsibilities. The Prime Minister’s vision is that we should also change our rules to improve the ease of doing business. When the BJP government took office, it used to take 600 days for environment clearance in this country. Today, that has come down to 75 days. We have also launched the Parivesh portal to provide all clearances through a single-window system.
Our large companies should definitely increase their social responsibilities. But more research should be done on technology and innovation. They should collaborate with universities, like the Indian Institutes of Technology, and promote start-ups. The government is also trying to strengthen the capacity of the private sector. If that strengthens, then one day India can become the world’s largest economy and offer a good lifestyle to its people.
Q: Is there a need for government support for industrial decarbonisation?
A: The government will support all industries. The country grows when industry grows. I am very clear about this. There are two ways to grow. First is the ease of doing business. The government is fully committed to it. Second is capacity building. We have an international collaboration with Sweden to bring in new technology in ‘hard to abate’ industries, build capacity, innovate and conduct research. In this, we should work together with the rest of the world and the government is fully prepared to take this forward. The government’s policies and the vision of the Prime Minister of a developed India aim to strengthen the private sector so that we can generate employment and make India the largest economy.
Q: Is greenwashing a concern?
A: I would like to say this to the private sector: don’t just be transparent, be honest. The government wants to improve the ease of doing business. Build trust, since trust is the only thing that can take everyone forward. Everyone should trust each other and their accounts too [smiles]. Where there is trust there is truth. If we follow both, then the country will definitely progress.
@szarabi
