By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Though India is currently the third largest polluter in the world in terms of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emission as estimated in 2020 after China and the United States, its pollution is less than half of the US and one-fourth of the China. Moreover, if taken historically, India’s contribution in pollution between 1750-2020 is merely 2.3 per cent. Therefore, targeting India as one of the largest polluters of the world on the World Environment Day is totally unfair while ignoring the challenges India is facing today. More so because failure of India in overcoming the challenges would shatter the dream of the world to face the climate crisis successfully. India, in this backdrop, needs greater global support, both financially and technologically, rather than mere criticism, because India alone cannot overcome its challenges.
The most shocking criticism of India came from the United States, that is the second largest polluter of the world emitting 5416 million tonnes of CO2 in 2020, as against India’s 2654 million tonnes. China was the largest polluter in the world emitting 10,065 million tonnes of CO2. Moreover, the criticism came from an India-origin presidential candidate of the Republican Party Nikki Haley of the United States, who said, “If we want to be serious about saving the environment, we need to confront India and China. They are some of the biggest polluters.”
Nikki Haley’s criticism of India is unfair on another ground if we look at the emissions historically. United States is the top polluter contributing to 24.5 per cent in the world CO2 emission in 2020, followed by China 13.9 per cent, Russia, 6.8 per cent, Germany 5.4 per cent, UK 4.6 per cent, Japan 3.9 per cent, and India 2.3 per cent. Rest of the countries of the world contributed 2 or less than 2 per cent in global emission.
Such an unfair criticism would not be fruitful without understanding India’s predicaments at the present and the environmental challenges it has been facing for quite some time now. India has become the largest populated country in the world in mid-April 2023, which means the country needs to feed largest number of stomachs along with meeting its development requirements with limited resources available, having only 2.4 per cent of the geographical area of the world, but housing about 17.8 per cent of the world population.
The ever-increasing population and limited geographical area of the country has considerably degraded the environment of India posing serious threat to human lives and entire ecology. The country needs proper technologies as well as huge investment to overcome its challenges.
India has become one of the most polluted countries, as far as air pollution is concerned. Air quality in many cities have gone down far below the safe levels. The chief causes of air pollution in the country are burning fossil fuels, industrial emissions, and agricultural waste burning.
Water pollution has also become a major problem. Contaminated and sewage water has polluted almost all rivers flowing through the cities. Lakes in and around cities have also become polluted by industrial wastes and sewage. Drugs and pesticides have also been contaminating various sources of water. It goes without saying that waste management in the country is inadequate posing great risks to public health.
Huge population necessitated the country to increase its agricultural, mining, industrial, and other economic activities and development projects. India lost significant forest area due to such activities, and the deforestation impacted negatively in the entire range of environment triggering climate crisis.
India is well aware that the country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, and already experiencing deadlier and greater number of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves. It is bringing devastation to its people both in the planes and the coastal areas.
All these crises are contributing to miseries of the people in India making almost all SDG targets off track. If the situation continues, the world may miss the 2030 targets.
And the challenges remain despite the country has taken sever steps to address the environmental challenges, chiefly because lack of enough investment and technology deployment in environmental protection and sustainable development. India needs to rein in the corrupt and the greedy who are contributing to the degradation of the environment is a well accepted fact, but global community, especially the developed nations, cannot absolve themselves of their responsibility of supporting India in fight against climate crisis that has been chiefly the result of their own unbridled industrialisation in the last 200 years.
India has just begun its journey in its growth path and industrialisation. The country is still in the category of lower-middle income group that houses the largest number of poor in the world. Its growth needs are obvious, and the development requirement would push up its electricity needs for which it depends on use of fossil fuels, chiefly coal. For energy security it also depends on oil imports for transport vehicles.
India has taken number of steps for green transition. Encouraging EVs, solar energy, et al are only few of them. India has made ambitious energy targets to be achieved by 2030, while targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. If global support come forward in the right earnest, India can even achieve net zero much before.
World must appreciate India’s steps that it has taken on its own even with the limited resources it has. It includes installation of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030, which would cater to 50 per cent of India’s electricity needs.
It must not be forgotten that the climate crisis can only be overcome by global support to developing nations both in terms of finance and technology. Implementation of the measures against the crisis and achievement of global goals would also depend on goodwill and commitment among nations, not on criticism and conflict. If interests of the common people are taken care of, it would be easy to get required political support from them to implement stricter measures against the violators of environmental norms. (IPA Service)
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