DUBAI: India and China, two major economies and two of the biggest coal consumers, on Saturday backed away from a pledge made by 118 nations on the sidelines of the annual UN climate summit (COP28) to triple global renewable energy generation capacity work towards at least 11,000 GW and doubling the average annual energy efficiency rate by 2030.
The abstention was in line with the stance of India, which, despite rapid progress in increasing its non-fossil fuel energy generation capacity, including solar, wind and hydropower, has refused to make commitments to massively reduce its dependence on coal. Fired power plants are the mainstay of electricity generation at a time when demand is rising rapidly.
The company has insisted it will not be “pressured” to reduce coal use as it does not want to compromise on the availability of electricity to support its economic growth and has given itself the scope to continue using coal until at least 2030 in the G-20 declaration, which gave priority to moving away from coal dependence. This position is at odds with the emerging consensus on moving away from fossil fuels and supporting China and oil producers Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran.
However, sources said that while India remains committed to significantly increasing its non-fossil energy capacity in line with the climate commitment under the Paris Agreement by 2030, it cannot join a commitment that is detrimental to its priority of extracting millions from the climate agreement. harm could combat poverty by promoting development.
They also said that the principled stance should not be confused with rigidity as India can later become part of the agreement after negotiating the terms as the agreement has a clear reference to the circumstances in each country and their negotiating capabilities. “After all, this happened outside of the COP28 negotiation process. It merely reflects the intent of the global effort and there was no question mark over India’s intent. India is already involved in the signing of the G20 leaders’ declaration in New Delhi,” an observer said.
At the G20 summit in Delhi, where a unanimous communiqué was issued, the world’s richest nations, including those that did not join on Saturday, had agreed to “continue efforts to triple global renewable energy capacity through existing targets and policies.” and to promote”. and demonstrate similar ambitions for other zero- and low-emission technologies, including avoidance and disposal technologies, by 2030, in line with national circumstances.”
