India on Track for Climate Goals: NITI Aayog

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat on Friday said India is on track to achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and the country is committed to mitigating climate change.

Saraswat was speaking at a two-day workshop on 'Legal & Regulatory Frameworks and Technical Considerations for Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS)', organised by NITI Aayog.

NDCs are the core of the Paris Agreement 2015 and the achievement of its long-term goals. They embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

As per India's NDC, the country stands committed to reducing emission intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030, from 2005 level, and achieving about 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil-based resources by 2030.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery talked about the Aayog's ongoing efforts in developing pathways for India's Net-Zero 2070 target that balance the imperatives of employment, growth and environmental sustainability and examine the role of different technologies and associated costs.

US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti in his opening remarks recapitulated long-standing US-India association and the potential multiplicative effect of this partnership.

He rephrased CCUS as 'Collaboration and Coordination with the US' highlighting the spirit of this partnership.

Tarun Kapoor, Adviser to the Prime Minister concluded by recognising the growing energy demand in India driven by Viksit Bharat 2047 ambition.

He highlighted the need for concerted global efforts towards development of CCUS.

CCUS offers a unique set of tools for decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries crucial for India's economic growth, such as steel, cement, chemicals, and fertilizers, which heavily rely on fossil fuels.

It enables a cleaner coal gasification economy, allowing for the more sustainable utilization of India's vast coal reserves.

CCUS also supports the hydrogen economy by enabling blue hydrogen production - paving the way for a broader transition to green hydrogen based on renewable energy. Furthermore, CCUS can create new economic opportunities by establishing new industries and markets.

NITI Aayog has constituted four technical inter-ministerial committees on standards, storage, transportation and utilization of CO2.

The committees are tasked with preparing a robust policy framework to address the challenges related to CCUS implementation in India, including technology readiness, high upfront capital costs, lack of infrastructure for CO2 transportation and storage, regulatory gaps, and public acceptance issues.

NITI Aayog and US agencies are cooperating on various aspects of CCUS under the work plan on CCUS technical cooperation.