Amid the global consensus in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels, India welcomed the agreement though new avenues of opposition may have opened that it will have to address in future climate negotiations.
“We support the proposal of the Presidency on the COP decision document while reiterating the fundamental principles enshrined in the Paris Agreement to take action for global good in accordance with national circumstances,” Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who led the Indian delegation, said on Wednesday during deliberations.
Over the years, India’s position has been that it is a large, developing country that accounted for 3% greenhouse gases emitted historically (1850-2019) compared to the United States (25%) and European Union (17%). Its per capita emissions, at 2.5 tonnes of CO2, were below the world average of 2.6 tonnes. However India’s development trajectory and population also meant that it had become the third-largest greenhouse-gas emitter, among countries, after the United States and China. This had led to calls that for keeping global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5C over pre-industrial era, major polluters — India and China despite their developing country status — too had to reign in their emissions. It is this sentiment that was captured in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Since then, India while steadfast in its position that it needed to exploit its most abundant and available energy resource, coal, has also embarked upon expanding its solar and wind energy capacity to produce electricity and commit to a net zero state by 2070.
