India halfway through its 175 GW renewable energy goal: Javadekar

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that India has already achieved half of its renewable energy production target.

The government plans to achieve 175GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 as part of its climate commitments. Reportedly, India currently has an installed renewable energy capacity of around 80 gigawatts.

Javadekar was addressing the 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Greater Noida.

"The world did not believe it when we announced our renewable energy target of 175 GW, which will be 40 per cent of our total energy capacity. However, we have already achieved half of our target," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves were also present at the event.

"We are a party to the Paris Agreement. The commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, towards sustainable development, is full and complete. He also played a leading road at the Paris summit," Javadekar said.

He said that the Modi government has also levied a tax on coal production, promoted e-vehicles by offering various tax concessions and set up a new ministry to tackle the water scarcity in the country.

"We will come out with an ambitious and appropriate Delhi Declaration tomorrow, which will ensure speedy restoration for degraded land for sustainable growth," Javadekar said.

He added that delegation from around 200 countries has participated in the event.

UNCCD was adopted in Paris on June 17, 1994, and was ratified by 196 countries and the European Union. India had ratified the UNCCD Convention in 1996.