New Delhi: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr. Jitendra Singh, has said India is committed to achieve the Net Zero emission target by 2070, as announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
“We are fully committed to contribute in attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – by way of Research and Innovation through international collaboration and partnerships,” he said, participating in the ‘Green Ribbon Champions’ programme in New Delhi.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, India is set to achieve its short term and long term targets under the Panchamrit action plan, like- reaching a non-fossil fuel energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030; fulfilling at least half of its energy requirements via renewable energy by 2030; reducing CO2 emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030; reducing carbon intensity below 45 percent by 2030; and finally pave the way for achieving a Net-Zero emission target by 2070.
Singh said, PM Modi had at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Glasgow, United Kingdom in November, 2021, expressed to intensify India’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) by presenting to the world five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of India’s climate action plan. He said, apart from a five-pronged target for India and its commitment to Net-Zero emissions by 2070, PM Modi also asserted the need to follow a sustainable lifestyle and emphasised on the idea of making ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ (LiFE) a global mission through bolder steps by the global clean energy fraternity.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the Mission Innovation (MI) and International Solar Alliance, spearheaded by PM Modi, were announced at COP21 in 2015, when the United Nations conferred on him the ‘Champions of Earth Award 2018.’
The term ‘Mission Innovation’ was coined by PM Modi. Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 23 countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) to accelerate the Clean Energy revolution and progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and pathways to net zero. India is a founding member of Mission Innovation.
The first phase of Mission Innovation (MI) (2015-2020) was announced at COP21 on November 30, 2015. In the first phase of Mission Innovation, India led three MI Innovation Challenges, such as Smart Grids, Off Grid Access to Electricity and Sustainable Biofuels, and hosted many workshops.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, Government of India through Public-Private Partnerships is ensuring the funding for clean energy innovations as envisioned under Mission Innovation 2.0. He said that the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) setup has been able to provide a unique opportunity for India to showcase its contribution to clean energy development nationally & internationally and quoted some major CEM initiatives which includes CEM’s Global Lighting Challenge (GLC) campaign, Street Lighting National Programme, Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) programme and the ‘One Sun-One World-One Grid’ Initiative which was first floated by the Prime Minister to harness tremendous potential of solar energy.
