NITI Aayog has formed dedicated multi-sectoral committees to prepare a policy design and create a roadmap for achieving its goal of becoming a net-zero economy by 2070.This has been started 3 years after India declared its goal to become a net-zero economy by 2070.
Key Focus Areas of the Working Groups Formed by the NITI Aayog
- NITI Aayog has formed 6 working groups. These groups will focus on developing policy formats, working models, and transition pathways for core sectors like macroeconomic implications, climate finance, critical minerals, and social aspects of energy transition.
- It will also form sectoral committees on transport, industry, buildings, power, and agriculture.
The 6 Net-Zero Working Groups
- Macroeconomic Implications: Examine the implications of net-zero pathways on macroeconomic indicators and suggest aligned monetary and fiscal policies.
- Climate Finance: Estimate India’s climate finance needs for mitigation and adaptation, and identify potential sources of finance.
- Critical Minerals: Research and development, domestic manufacturing, and supply chain for critical minerals.
- Social Aspects of Energy Transition: Assess the social impacts of the energy transition and propose mitigating strategies.
- Policy Synthesis: Collate the reports of the sectoral committees and prepare a consolidated policy handbook.
- Sectoral Committees: Devise transition pathways for power, industry, buildings, transport, and agriculture sectors.
Expected Outcomes
- The deadline for all the working groups to submit their action plans is October 2024.
- The NITI Aayog report is expected to become a policy handbook for all central ministries for drafting climate-resilient and adaptive policies to achieve India’s net-zero target by 2070.
Net-Zero Target
- Net Zero refers to achieving an overall balance between carbon emissions produced and carbon taken out of the atmosphere.
- It is referred to as carbon neutrality, which does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.
- Further, absorption of the emissions can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests.
- The removal of gases from the atmosphere requires futuristic technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
- More than 70 countries have promised to become Net Zero by 2050.
India’s Initiatives to Achieve Net Zero Target
- National Action Plan on Climate Change: It aims at creating awareness among the representatives of the public, different agencies of the government, scientists, industry and the communities on the threat posed by climate change and the steps to counter it.
- India has promised to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070 at the Conference of Parties-26 (COP) Glasgow Summit.
For this India outlined a 5-pronged ‘Panchamitra’ climate action target
- Reach 500 GW Non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.
- 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
- Reduction of total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes from now to 2030.
- Reduction of the carbon intensity of the economy by 45% by 2030, over 2005 levels.
- Achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070.