Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said at a pre-COP 26 meeting in Milan, Italy, that India will engage constructively at COP 26 and evaluate bridging proposals to conclude the Paris rulebook, which can be done by delivering on the climate finance promises of the developed countries.

Addressing the meeting virtually, the minister highlighted that India recognizes the urgency of strong climate action in this decade to ensure that the world is on track to stay within the temperature goal of the Paris agreement, as well as adapt to its impacts, and minimize loss and damage.

Mr Yadav said that, therefore, the COP 26 outcome must emphasize the need to plug the ambition gap by delivering the means of implementation support that will allow developing countries to enhance their climate actions. He added that climate change is embedded in India’s development strategy and India has been a frontrunner in taking ambitious climate action. However, India has a large population that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Hence, adaptation is among the top priorities for our country.

Highlighting on the gravity of climate finance, Mr Yadav stated that India strongly believes that COP 26 must initiate the process of setting the new collective long-term climate finance goal for post-2020. The Pre-COP 26 meeting was hosted by the Government of Italy from 30th September to 2nd October 2021 in Milan, Italy in the run up to COP 26.

A joint statement issued last week by Quad countries — Australia, India, Japan, and the United States — stated that all member states intend to update or communicate ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement before COP26.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated on September 25 at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly that India will install 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030. “India has established a better balance in both economy and ecology. You will definitely be proud to see India’s efforts on climate action as compared to big and developed countries,” Modi had said. “Today, India is moving very fast towards the target of 450 GW of renewable energy. We are also in the campaign to make India the world’s largest Green Hydrogen Hub.”

The COP26 is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, UK from October 31 to November 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the leaders’ summit during the first week of the conference though no official announcement has been made. Mr Yadav will participate in its high-level segment during the second week of the conference.

A recent report by the Deloitte Economics Institute, ‘India’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future’, has stressed that India can lead the way on climate action and prosper, or do nothing and “impose steep economic costs” — as well as the continuing human and environmental cost — on the country. The report states that leaving climate change unchecked could cost India $35 trillion in lost economic potential over the next 50 years. Or instead, India could gain $11 trillion in economic value – by limiting rising global temperatures and exporting the climate solutions it has already developed to the rest of the world.

Deloitte warns that for India, a rise of 3 degrees C or more in average global temperatures by the end of the century will “make it harder for people to live and work, as sea levels rise, crop yields fall, infrastructure is damaged, and other challenges emerge. It adds that the good news is that India is well positioned to help the world transition to a green economy, and could achieve “significant economic growth” by supplying the products, services and financing the world will need to limit temperature increases.

The Deloitte report says that India has much to lose from inaction. Unchecked climate change threatens India’s contemporary economic engine with 80% of GDP at risk. Services, manufacturing, retail and tourism, construction, and transport will incur the greatest climate-related losses over next 50 years. But India has much to gain from action. Rapid decarbonization through broad changes in its energy mix and industrial base will significantly transition India away from fossil fuel sources, falling to 5% by 2070.

This transition would see India restructure its economy toward growth in advanced industrial sectors, leverage clean energy global export markets with affordable clean energy technologies. Companies in India are already leading producers of advanced climate solutions, including green hydrogen and negative-emission solutions, both natural and technological.