COP28: India's climate wins

topic:	Climate action
located:	India
editor:	Bindu Gopal Rao

One of the essential landmarks at COP28 was the earmarking of a US$ 420 million Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) by the World Bank to help developing nations cope with the effects of climate change. Another milestone was the pledge by 118 countries to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 to over 11000 GW from the current 3400 GW level.

India and Sweden co-launched Phase II of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT 2.0) for 2024-26 and the Industry Transition Platform to unite the two countries’ governments, industries, technology providers, researchers, and think tanks. This edition also saw the first-ever dedicated Health Day, with 123 governments endorsing the Climate and Health Declaration.

India strongly represented the need to make climate finance available, accessible, and affordable to developing countries, indicating its preference for a clear roadmap.

The country has been consciously working towards a positive response to climate change. This is seen in efforts like reducing emission intensity versus GDP by 33% between 2005 and 2019, and 40% of its electric installed capacity is now through non-fossil fuel sources. Between 2017 and 2023, India added around 100 GW of installed electric capacity, 80% of which comes from non-fossil fuel-based resources.

The adoption of the Green Development Pact by the G20 nations as part of the New Delhi Declaration has been a testament to this progress. Prime Minister Modi specifically called for countries to join Mission LiFE – Lifestyle for Environment.

India launched the Green Credit Initiative (GCI) at COP28 to create a participatory global platform for exchanging innovative environmental programs and instruments.

In addition to GCI, a web platform with a repository of policies and best practices incentivising environment-friendly actions has also been launched. To implement climate-friendly measures, the Union Budget of 2023-24 has launched the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes or the MISHTI program to plant mangroves along the coastline and on salt pans in the country.

As the alarm bells go off, with the world having recorded its hottest year in 2023, it is the right time to take action to address the cause of climate change. The time to do this is now, and one hopes that the promises made in COP28 are fulfilled sooner rather than later.

Image by Raghu Nayyar.

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