NATIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO WARMING

ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs April 3, 2023 Environmental Issues, GS3 Leave a comment 138 Views

India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through 2021, a new study estimated.
India’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from 1851-2021 have resulted in 0.04°C, 0.03°C and 0.006°C of global warming over pre-industrial levels, respectively.
Overall, the country ranks fifth among the top 10 contributors to warming.
Since 2005, India climbed to the fifth spot from the 10th. China, too, rose to the second position after overtaking Russia.

Global Position:

The United States topped the list of countries, with a contribution of 0.28°C (17.3 per cent) of rise in temperature.
China stood second with 0.20°C (12.3 per cent) of warming, followed by Russia’s 0.10°C (6.1 per cent), Brazil’s 0.08°C (4.9 per cent) and India’s 0.08°C (4.8 per cent).

Significance of the study:

By focussing on the three gases that most countries include in their Nationally Determined Contributions, this dataset is uniquely positioned to informing climate policy and benchmarking.
It should become a living resource for continually tracking contributions to climate change and, more importantly, how those are changing.
Tracking national contributions to climate change can help understand the burden of responsibility carried by each country.
It can also further inform the design of international policies that pursue equitable decarbonisation pathways.

Contribution of the three gases:

The analysis showed that CO2 is responsible for 1.11°C of warming compared to methane’s 0.41°C and nitrous oxide’s 0.08°C.

Contribution of land-use and forestry sector:

The land-use and forestry sector is a significant contributor in half the countries.
CO2 emissions from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) in Brazil led to 0.04°C of warming.
The LULUCF sector accounted for 38 per cent of the total warming from CH4 emissions and 72 per cent from N2O emissions between 1851-2021.
The contribution of India, China and Brazil towards warming due to CH4 and N2O increased by 110 per cent, 56 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, compared to CO2-related warming alone.
Since 1992, the additional warming caused by global fossil fuel emissions has been over four times greater than the additional warming caused by land-use change.

What are Nationally Determined Contributions?

· Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals.

· NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

· The Paris Agreement requires each Party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it intends to achieve.

· The government of India has recently updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted by India to UNFCCC under the Paris Agreement. These include targets:

· to reduce the Emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level;

· to achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030

· create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

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