Green problem: How India fares in Global carbon emissions

India's share of the global emissions is much less than major developing countries

Reiterating India’s stand on Climate issues and emission cuts, the vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog, Arvind Panagariya, said in an Economic Times article that given the country’s present financial conditions, “any positive commitments made by India to regulate its emissions without compensation constitute a generous gesture”.

Panagariya’s article throws light on several important stats regarding India’s present stand in terms of global emissions. India has in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) said that it will cut emissions per unit of GDP by 33 per cent to 35 per cent by 2030. It has also proposed to raise the electric capacity from installed non-fossil fuel-based energy sources to 40 per cent and expand its forest cover by 2030.

According to the 2011 data, India ranks fourth in terms of countries’ share of carbon dioxide emissions.



However, seen from 1850 to 2011, India has contributed only three per cent to total carbon dioxide emissions of the world.

India accounts for 2.4 per cent of the world surface area, but supports around 17.5 per cent of the world population. It houses the largest proportion of the global poor, at 30 per cent — around 304 million people who do not have access to electricity account for 24 per cent of the global population, those relying on solid biomass for cooking are about 30 per cent of the global population. Also, 92 million people are without access to safe drinking water.

The average annual energy consumption in India in 2011 was only 0.6 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) per capita, compared with the global average of 1.88 toe per capita.

The argument, then, is that if India had to cater to the vastly varied concerns and needs of its massive population, provide them with basic necessities, it could not and should not be following the more stringent emission control norms that critics in developed countries repeatedly see as necessary.

The European Union and the US have contributed to much larger portions of global emissions. And, as Panagariya has pointed out, the major onus falls on these developed nations and blocks to correct the damage they have done.