India’s greenhouse emissions dip with switch to renewables, economic slowdown

India is projected to meet its pre-2020 climate pledge, also called the Cancun pledge, made in 2010. It is also likely to meet and possibly overachieve its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, the Emissions Gap Report 2020 has said on Wednesday.

India, which emits 7.1% of global emissions and has per capita emissions that are 60 % lower than the global average, recorded a fall in emissions growth in 2019. India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew by 1.4% in 2019, lower than the average of 3.3% per year over the last decade according to the report.

This slower than expected growth is primarily due to increased hydropower from a record monsoon and weaker economic growth, along with India’s continued growth in renewables, the report said.