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1 1 (July 21, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveidl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: a Congressional Research Servi lnforming the IegsIitive debate since 1914 India: Climate Change Issues Global climate change presents multiple challenges to India. The country is faced with meeting its energy and economic development needs, reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and addressing the potential impacts of climate change. India is among the world's top emitters of GHGs, including carbon dioxide (CO2), along with China, the United States, and the European Union; thus India's participation in global efforts to mitigate climate change would be crucial to their success. India accounts for 18% of the world's population and 7% of global CO2 emissions in 2019, although its CO2 emissions per capita are comparatively low. Energy use in India has roughly doubled since 2000, with 80% of demand supplied by energy generated from coal, oil, and solid biomass. Its reliance on coal and other fossil fuels results in India emitting more GHGs per unit of energy generated than other large countries. Impact of Climate Change India is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. According to a December 2021 overview of the country's National Action Plan on Climate Change, Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges of our times. Recent events have emphatically demonstrated our growing vulnerability to climate change. Climate change impacts will range from affecting agriculture-further endangering food security-to sea- level rise and the accelerated erosion of coastal zones, increasing intensity of natural disasters, species extinction, and the spread of vector-borne diseases. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Draft Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability provides both observations and projections of potential impacts of climate change on India. The report states that air temperature has increased in the 20th century over all of Asia, and Asian countries are experiencing hotter summer climates, resulting in increased energy demands. It also projects a decline in fisheries, aquaculture, and crop production, with climate change affecting rice and maize yields. Additional potential impacts to the region noted in the report include an increase in natural disaster-associated displacements of people; degradation and loss of coral reefs; increasing stress on fresh water resources; sea level rise; heat stress; an increase in mosquito borne disease; and an increase in intense tropical cyclones, among others. Domestic Climate Policies India's 1.4 billion people and growing middle class with patterns of increased consumption have created rapidly growing energy demand and resulting GHG emissions (see Figure 1). To meet projected growth in electricity demand over the next twenty years, India reportedly would need to add a power system the size of the European Union's. Figure I. Historical Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Sector and IEA Emissions Projections for India m ilon metric tons co, 4,000 a 2040 IEAS a @6 Plices 3,000 _ }. ... Senario 2030 IEAStited 2,000 .Policies Scentario 1,000 *tr4C 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that India is likely to continue to rely on coal as a primary source of energy for at least another decade, even as coal's share of power generation may decline. India is the world's second- largest producer of coal and, according to the Indian government, its coal production rose 8.6% during the 12- month period ending March 2022. India's expected rapid industrialization and urbanization likely will continue to create large energy demands, perhaps most notably in the area of space cooling. By many accounts, transition away from coal to renewables is among the most important tasks facing Indian leaders as they address climate change and reform India's energy sector. Coal continues to account for nearly half of India's total energy consumption and about three-quarters of electricity generation. Renewable energy is India's second- largest source of power generation and the fastest growing, with solar sources growing by an average of 60% annually since 2015. The potential exists for further expansion of the generating capacity of renewables including in solar, wind, and hydroelectricity production. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to attain 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel energy generation by 2030, requiring a more than four-fold increase of current capacity. More than half of this addition would come in the solar sector. According to the IEA, solar accounted for approximately 4% of India's electricity generation in 2021. The Green India Mission, one of the eight Missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, aims to enhance carbon sinks, increase forest cover, and improve the quality of forest cover, but reportedly has not met interim reduction targets in all states. Another key issue for India is emissions from vehicular transport. According to the IEA, Oil demand for road freight transport in India has tripled since 2000 and emissions from passenger road transport in India have also quadrupled since 2000. Government mitigation efforts July 21, 2022

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