Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India will become carbon neutral by 2070, Modi says at COP26 summit

India will become carbon neutral by 2070, Modi says at COP26 summit

INDIA's economy will become carbon neutral by 2070, the country's prime minister announced at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

"By 2070, India will achieve the target of net-zero emissions," Narendra Modi told more than 120 leaders at the critical talks on Monday (1).


India is the last of the world's major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the US and the EU aiming for 2050.

Modi also said India would increase its 2030 target for installed capacity of "non-fossil energy" -- mostly solar -- from 450 to 500 gigawatts.

In addition, 50 per cent of the country's energy requirements will come from renewable sources by the same date.

Modi also announced that the carbon intensity of India's economy -- the amount of emissions produced per unit of GDP -- would be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030. The previous goal was 35 per cent.

Modi made it clear, however, that emissions-cutting pledges from India and other developing nations would require finance from rich, historic emitters.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries that submitted carbon-cutting plans under the 2015 treaty were to provide updates five years later, by the end of 2020.

India is the only major economy not to have not done so, but Modi's announcement is likely to be formalised in a revised plan, experts suggested.

India targets railways

One key sector where India would aim to lighten its carbon footprint is rail transport.

"Friends, more passengers than the entire population of the world travel by Indian Railways every year," Modi said.

"This huge railway system has set itself a target of making itself 'net-zero' by 2030. This initiative alone will reduce emissions by 60 million tonnes per annum."

On finance, Modi lambasted the failure of rich nations to cough up a promised $100 billion a year by 2020 to help vulnerable nations decarbonise their economies and cope with climate impacts.

"We all know this truth that the promises made to date regarding climate finance have proved to be hollow," he said. "The world ambitions on climate finance cannot remain the same as they were at the time of the Paris Agreement."

"It is India's request that developed countries make available one trillion dollars of climate finance as soon as possible," he added, without specifying how such funds should be distributed.

He also called for climate finance flows to be tracked in the same way as progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is subject to strict monitoring.

India has the lowest per capita emissions of the world's major economies -- emitting five per cent of the total, despite accounting for 17 per cent of the world's population.

(AFP)

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less