India 'confident' it can cut emissions by at least 35% by 2030

India, the world's third biggest carbon emitter, is "confident" it can cut emissions by at least 35 per cent by 2030, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday (Oct 2).

"It is a huge jump for India, therefore it is a very ambitious target," he said, after India submitted a new plan for tackling climate change to the UN ahead of a major environment conference in Paris in November.

In its pledges, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), India committed to cut its "carbon intensity" by up to 35 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, the document published on a UN website early Friday said.

Carbon intensity refers to the ratio of a country's emissions to its economic output.

• India also committed to generating 40 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2030.

"We are much too dependent on fossil fuels now," Javadekar said, describing the new goals as "comprehensive, ambitious and progressive".
 AFP
channelnewsasia.com
2/10/15
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