TOPIC : GS 3 Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
India must commit to net zero emissions
What is the news?
- India is at the risk of being cast globally as an outlier on climate action, with a negative fallout.
- With over 50% of the global economy already committed to net zero emissions by 2050Â and China committing to be so before 2060.
- The pace and scale of climate action is only set to increase, with the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report unequivocal on the need for urgent and stronger responses.
- Events around the world underline the point towns washed away in Germany, subways turned into storm water drains in China, forests fried in the United States and so many more lives lost to flooding in India.
Massive opportunities
- The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow is shaping up to be the most important climate meeting since the Paris Agreement in 2015.
- It is squarely focused on supercharging global ambition and action on climate change, as all countries, including India, agreed to do in the historic Paris Agreement.
- Over 100 countries have already committed to net zero emissions by 2050, with more expected at COP26 and two key holdouts are India and Australia.
India and Climate Change
- India itself has a national interest in ambitious global and national climate action.
- It is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change and, therefore, should be among the more active against the threats.
- India faces harmful impacts related to sea level rise, heat stress, drought, water stress and flooding, biodiversity and natural disasters.
- As a rising power, India naturally seeks stronger influence globally. Being an outlier on the global challenge facing our generation does not support this aim.
- India is already the third largest emitter in the world, and is set to be the largest as the United States, China, and the European Union are all now signed up to net zero.
Climate Change and World Organization
- S., President Joe Biden’s administration is mainstreaming climate action into its economic, foreign and security policy, but also with much of the Group of 77 (G77) states, who are increasingly concerned to see climate action, and in multilateral groupings such as the United Nations and ASEANÂAPEC.
Way Forward
- India is set to significantly exceed its Paris Agreement commitment of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33Â35% below 2005 levels by 2030, providing ready room for higher ambition.
- It is impressing the world with its leading rollÂout of renewable energy and target for 450GW by 2030, linked to its leadership on the International Solar Alliance and recent national hydrogen strategy.
- Indian corporates are also stepping up, with the Tata Group winning awards on sustainability, Mahindra committing to net zero by 2040 and Reliance by 2035.
- India’s national interests on climate action are now engaged in ways that go significantly beyond waiting for donor support to drive ambition, notwithstanding reasonable arguments about historical responsibility, per capita emissions and equity.
- With growing wealth and stature, India is increasingly disinclined toward handouts, wellÂtargeted donor investments and international partnerships should not be a factor in raising India’s climate ambition
Mains Question
Explain how country will need to take a stand on climate change action or risk being cast globally as an outlier?
Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/india-must-commit-to-net-zero-emissions/article36237828.ece
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- Purchasing Managers’ Index
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is an index of the prevailing direction of economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors. It consists of a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions, as viewed by purchasing managers, are expanding, staying the same, or contracting. The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current and future business conditions to company decision makers, analysts, and investors.
The PMI is compiled and released monthly by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The PMI is based on a monthly survey sent to senior executives at more than 400 companies in 19 primary industries. The PMI is based on five major survey areas: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries, and employment. The ISM weighs each of these survey areas equally. The surveys include questions about business conditions and any changes, whether it be improving, no changes, or deteriorating.
- The Black-necked Crane
It is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the rear of the eye. It has black primaries and secondaries. Both sexes are similar. Some populations are known to make seasonal movements. It is revered in Buddhist traditions and culturally protected across much of its range. A festival in Bhutan celebrates the bird while the Indian union territory of Ladakh has designated it as the state bird
The black-necked crane is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES. Most of whom spent their winters in Tibet in the valleys of the Nyanga, Lhasa and Pengbo rivers and the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo. The Hutoushan Reservoir in the Pengbo valley is an important winter resting place.
- 3. The snow leopard
It is also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus Panthera native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments. It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m , ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. In the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations.
The snow leopard is listed in CITES Appendix I. It has been listed as threatened with extinction in Schedule I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals since 1985.Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Kyrgyzstan since the 1950s. In India, the snow leopard is granted the highest level of protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and hunting is sentenced with imprisonment of 3–7 years. Potential snow leopard habitat in the Indian Himalayas is estimated at less than 90,000 km in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
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- Rashtriya Poshan Maah
Ministry of Women and Child Development, being the nodal Ministry for POSHAN Abhiyan, is celebrating the Poshan Maah in convergence with partner Ministries and departments, at National, States/UTs, Districts, and grass root level. The objective of the Poshan Maah is to ensure community mobilisation and bolster people’s participation for addressing malnutrition amongst young children, and women and to ensure health and nutrition for everyone.
The objective of Poshan Maah and planned activities to bring Nutrition in focus through their verticals. Department of School Education, Ministry of Education has asked States to conduct Nutrition e-quiz and Meme making competition amongst students. Ministry of Panchayati Raj is planning to conduct special Committee meetings in every gram Panchayat during the month. Ministry of Rural Development has advised States to promote Nutri-gardens with the support of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. Ministry of Ayush has offered to support building a healthy lifestyle by adopting Yoga and holistic nutrition. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also extended its cooperation for all the activities in the best possible manner
Sources : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1750104
PRELIMS QUESTIONS
- Consider the following statement with regard to The Black-necked Crane
- It is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- A festival in India celebrates the bird while the Indian union territory of Ladakh
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only      (b) 2 only
(c).Both      (d). None of above
Answer : D
It is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the rear of the eye. It has black primaries and secondaries. Both sexes are similar. Some populations are known to make seasonal movements. It is revered in Buddhist traditions and culturally protected across much of its range. A festival in Bhutan celebrates the bird while the Indian union territory of Ladakh has designated it as the state bird
The black-necked crane is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES. Most of whom spent their winters in Tibet in the valleys of the Nyanga, Lhasa and Pengbo rivers and the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo. The Hutoushan Reservoir in the Pengbo valley is an important winter resting place
- Consider the following statement with regard to Purchasing Managers’ Index
- It is an index of the prevailing direction of economic trends in the agricultural and service sectors
- It is compiled and released monthly by the NSO
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only      (b) 2 only
(c).Both      (d). None of above
Answer : D
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is an index of the prevailing direction of economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors. It consists of a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions, as viewed by purchasing managers, are expanding, staying the same, or contracting. The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current and future business conditions to company decision makers, analysts, and investors.
The PMI is compiled and released monthly by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The PMI is based on a monthly survey sent to senior executives at more than 400 companies in 19 primary industries. The PMI is based on five major survey areas: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries, and employment. The ISM weighs each of these survey areas equally. The surveys include questions about business conditions and any changes, whether it be improving, no changes, or deteriorating.