Net-Zero: India’s opportunity to play its ace

As per the Emissions Gap Report 2021 of the UNEP, the world has so far failed to embark on a trajectory towards limiting global warming to 1.5°C. While developed countries have financial resources and technology access, the least developed countries (LDCs) & small island developing countries (SIDs) await the necessary support as per Article 10 of the Paris Agreement. As the commitments from developed countries to these vulnerable countries have not been followed-up by adequate actions, India can rise to the occasion by positioning itself as a climate leader through principled and pragmatic ventures. India has already delivered on its Paris Agreement commitments in ‘letter and spirit’. It has now committed to an ambitious plan to cut down the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2070. This announcement has taken a pole position amongst the large developing economies in shaping global conversations around the topic of climate equity. These declarations have resonated well with the nations of the Global North and South. India can now leverage its intellectual and technological prowess coupled with its soft power to achieve its rightful stature in the global order. It can begin by supporting the LDCs and SIDs through outcome-based interventions to realise the elusive ‘Global Net-Zero’. 

It has now committed to an ambitious plan to cut down the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2070.

Clarity in articulation of national strategies

Overcoming its own constraints, India can commit focused resources towards understanding the needs of LDC and SIDs on climate action. It can share learnings from its people-centric developmental models, indigenous technologies, programme management expertise, and inclusive policies while being respectful towards the priorities of individual countries. Such actions can liberate LDCs and SIDs from heavy expectations of financial reciprocity. To begin with, India can support them in preparing for the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement (GST) 2023 through local capacity building. Such support can trickle in through various bilateral and multilateral initiatives. It is important to note that the outcome of this GST is expected to influence the drafting of new NDCs for the post-2023 phase. India can help synchronise global climate actions across geographies to help them become more relevant, impactful, and sustainable.

Intensifying sector-focused peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing avenues at each stratum of these value-chains can unlock substantial opportunities for all stakeholders.

Purposeful actions in a few sectors can yield disproportionately large favourable outcomes. Renewed thrust on promoting renewable energy, electric mobility, sustainable built-environment and smart- agriculture can result in rapid, inclusive, and sustainable benefits. Although each sector has a unique structure and distinct growth-dynamics, a holistic value-chain approach on climate action that includes multilateral agencies, local/state/union governments, private sector, civil society, and academia can be transformational. Intensifying sector-focused peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing avenues at each stratum of these value-chains can unlock substantial opportunities for all stakeholders. The participation of diverse countries in India-led initiatives like International Solar Alliance, Centre for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP), Start-up India International Summit, etc., have reinforced the utility of such initiatives.

Invoking ‘commercial diplomacy’

Indian business associations such as Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), FICCI, ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM can contribute substantially towards the global ‘circular economy’ discourse. They can become leading ambassadors for propagating India’s commercial diplomacy on climate action. They can facilitate the exchange of climate-smart practices with peers in LDCs and SIDs. Creating country-specific systems for capturing market intelligence, catalysing growth of innovative micro, small and medium enterprises, and establishing skills training through CSR funds are some measures that can create ‘local green jobs’. These measures will improve the macroeconomic stability in such countries and can facilitate their integration into the global economy. The government’s diplomatic efforts should complement corporates’ actions in this direction. 

Green capital: Conduit for collaboration 

From a supply perspective, developed countries’ current commitment to climate finance is not commensurate with their GHG emissions. Their actual disbursements are far lesser than their declared commitments. Moreover, they tend to label private finance extended at market rates as their financial support for climate action. Thus, focused and consistent capital mobilisation for green initiatives has become a perpetual challenge for most LDCs and SIDs facing constraints like low per-capita income, volatile economy, lack of fiscal space, and low savings rate. It is worth noting that these countries have also committed to ambitious decarbonisation targets to capitulate to global pressures. As a principled player on the world stage, India can help them articulate such inconsistencies on global forums with assertiveness. This may lead to increased commitments and release of ‘real’ climate finances, especially for the post-2023 phase.

The inability of LDCs and SIDs to fully leverage international public climate finance mechanisms, e.g., Green Climate Fund (GCF), is worrisome.

The inability of LDCs and SIDs to fully leverage international public climate finance mechanisms, e.g., Green Climate Fund (GCF), is worrisome. Moreover, private capital providers are reluctant to invest in such economies due to a lack of bankable projects, and favourable eco-systems for ‘green-sectors’. Bridging such viability gaps is critical for the world. India can leverage its innovation and expertise in the financial sector to benefit such countries. It can also support them with capacity and institution building, best practices in financial governance, and infusion of climate action in economic policies. India’s intricate support to LDCs and SIDs in creating project design, planning, execution, and controlling can improve the bankability of large-scale ‘green-programmes’, thus opening doors for the flow of finance. They are emeralds studded on the surface of our blue marble. Through its actions and demeanour, India can summon the world on a path of higher purpose: To soar above a constricted view of country-specific interests and realise that each of us can serve our interests better by working together as equals in reinvigorating multilateralism to shape our common future.

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