India Historically Not Responsible for Climate Change: Javadekar

Prakash Javadekar said that India is presently contributing only 6.8% of global emissions.

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar said that “climate change isn’t an overnight phenomenon, it has taken the last 100 years.”

(Photo Courtesy: PTI)

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Friday said that India is in no way responsible for the climate change and presently contributes only 6.8% of global emissions, as reported by ANI.

In a press briefing, Javadekar was quoted as saying, “Climate change isn’t an overnight phenomenon, it has taken the last 100 years. India is taking steps to reduce its emissions as a responsible member of the global community.”

Even though India is not solely responsible for climate change, it is one of the few countries that has complied to the Paris Agreement, Javadekar said.

Various countries, under the 2015 Paris Agreement, have committed themselves to a long-term goal of limiting average temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to make constant efforts to further limit it to 1.5 Celsius.

He also mentioned that historically India only contributed 3 percent of all global emissions whereas the United States, Europe and China contributed 25 percent, 22 percent and 13 percent respectively.

The environment minister also said that India’s emission intensity was to be reduced by 33 percent to 35 percent as per the Paris Agreement. India has achieved 21 percent of this figure and aims to achieve the remainder in the next 10 years.

According to a recent report by the United Nations Environment Plan, India’s emissions grew 1.4 percent in 2019. This figure is much lower than average of 3.3 percent per year over last decade.

The environment minister signed off on the fifth Paris Agreement on 11 December.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the global climate summit on 12 December on the fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, Javadekar said.

(With Inputs from ANI)