March of the year 2022 was not usual in India, why because it was the hottest March since
1902.
Between March 11 and May 18, 2022, in India 15 states clocked 280 heatwaves. Also, the monsoon
was very unusual and turned unpleasant for some Indian states (Down to earth) are some visuals of
climate change As the world countries (especially now they are known as developed ones) started
Developing to reach the maximum level of production at any cost starting from the Industrial
Revolution. It was in the mid-20th century that environmentalists (like – Mrs. Rachel Carson) and
climatologists tabled various reports in front of the various Inter-governmental organizations at the
International level for the various stakeholders to just take a pause and look back at their footsteps.
After the question of ‘Development vs Destruction’ surfaced, the need for an apex body solely to
look after the purpose which was decided consensually UNFCC came into force. The sole aim of this
organization was to mitigate the factors that lead to climate change and the first challenging task it
identified was to control the rise in Global temperatures by 1.50 C as already it has risen by 1.10C
since pre-industrial times and it could breach the mark within next 18 years(5th IPCC Assessment
Report ). As India is already a signatory to UNFCC and had ratified Paris Agreement(COP 21,2015) we
have committed to reducing the carbon intensity of our economy by 45 % before 2030 from its 2005
levels as part of our Nationally Determined contributions. (COP 26 2021). We have set a target to
achieve Net zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50 % of our energy demand from renewable sources.
In this direction, the Government enacted The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act 2022. The act
laid down the future options for various stakeholders to contribute from their end in order to fulfil
India’s promise on the Global stage. The highlighted part of this act is to issue carbon credits to
whosoever limits the emission cap and to create a domestic carbon trading market. Under this
facility, any firm can shift to less carbon dioxide emissions and as they will be emitting less than their
cap they will be issued a Carbon credit certificate. One certificate is a mass of one lakh tone Carbon
Dioxide emission. (Concept inspired by Kyoto Protocol). Now any firm with a certificate can trade
with any other firm in the domestic market under this act and the firm which is not able to limit the
emission cap has to buy from others. Residential buildings can switch to solar rooftops (Under the
rooftop solar scheme) as recently India’s first solar-powered village Modhera emerged. Definitely
need of the hour is an investment in Hydrogen, Solar, and other efficient renewable sources of
energy. India has achieved some remarkable progress in this direction and by a multipronged
approach as a Nation, we can work in this direction with common but differentiated responsibilities.
