India cites lack of technology, infrastructure as barriers to fight climate change

India has outlined lack of technology transfer, high costs and regulatory barriers among multiple challenges it faces to fight climate change in its report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it said Jan. 2.

India submitted its fourth Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC on Dec. 30, updating its emissions data, weeks ahead of its expected submission of the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions by mid-February.

"...access to relevant, affordable, and scalable technologies is often limited due to high costs, lack of infrastructure, and regulatory barriers," it said in the report. "On the supply side, Intellectual Property Rights regimes can act as a barrier to technology transfer, restricting access to technologies, especially for developing countries like India."

These challenges have forced India to rely heavily on domestic resources and stretch national capacity, slowing its efforts to achieve critical climate objectives, it said, adding it made repeated submissions in the past.

India is forced to divert resources from other essential needs to develop these solutions independently, whereas it should access global innovations to complement domestic efforts and to avoid duplication, it said.

In 2020, India's total greenhouse gas emissions, including Land Use Land-Use Change and Forestry, was 2.44 billion mtCO2e, down 7.93% compared to 2019 but up 98.34% since 1994, the report said.

During the year, emissions by gas included 80.53% carbon dioxide, 13.32% methane and 5.13% nitrous oxide, with other gasses accounting for 1.02%, it said.

The energy sector accounted for the highest emissions at 75.66%, while agriculture accounted for 13.72% and industrial process and product use was 8.06%, while waste accounted for 2.56%, it said.

"India is committed to combating climate change by making development choices that ensure the growth and development of the economy along low-carbon pathways toward net zero by 2070," the report said.

Data from S&P Global Commodity Insights shows India's emissions -- including carbon capture, utilization and storage -- is expected to rise from 3.97 billion mtCO2e in 2023 in an inflections scenario to 4.58 billion mtCO2e by 2030.

NDC

Two of India's targets submitted in its NDCs are currently close to being achieved, it said. As of October 2024, 46.52% of the total cumulative power capacity in India -- or 211.39 GW -- was based on installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources, it said.

Furthermore, the emission intensity of gross domestic product has been reduced by 36% between 2005 and 2020, it added.

"It is important to note that India's updated NDC does not set sector-specific mitigation targets, but India is committed to achieving and implementing various strategies to reduce emission intensity further, improve energy efficiency, and protect vulnerable sectors of the Indian economy," it said.

According to India's updated NDC, it aims to reduce the emissions Intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 from the 2005 level.

The NDC also targets achieving about 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, with the help of the transfer of technology and low-cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund, it said.

Extreme weather

The report said 2023 was the second warmest year on record for the country since 1901, with annual mean surface air temperatures averaging over 0.65 degrees Celsius above the 1981-2010 period average.

Past decades -- 2013-2022 and 2014-2023 -- were also the warmest decades on record, with anomalies of over 0.41 C-0.46 C, it said.

"State-wise reports on observed rainfall trends and variability based on recent 30-year data (1989-2018) indicate a significant increasing trend in the number of dry days during the monsoon season over the south coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, northern parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal," it said.

A significant increasing trend in the frequency of heavy rainfall events was observed over Saurashtra and Kutch, Southeastern parts of Rajasthan, northern parts of Tamil Nadu, northern parts of Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of Southwest Odisha, many parts of Chhattisgarh, Southwest Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Manipur and Mizoram, Konkan and Goa, and Uttarakhand, the report added.

In addition, several studies indicated that overall the glacier snout recession has accelerated in the last few decades in the Himalayas, which are undergoing thinning and reduction in length and area, it said.