India among a few G20 nations on track to meet Paris Agreement goals: FM

New Delhi: India is among a few G20 countries on track towards United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement goals and has taken decisive actions to tackle climate change, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

The minister, in a meeting with COP 26 president-designate Alok Sharma, said the government is taking concrete steps and at appreciable speed to meet its commitments on the target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

She also said 100 GW of this renewable energy had already been achieved.

Among other important initiatives, she mentioned the extensive work done on Hydrogen Energy Mission.

The minister discussed various issues related to climate change and specifically COP 26 — the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, a Finance Ministry statement said.

The UK will host the international climate conference COP 26 in November this year.

With regards to ongoing discussions on climate change in various fora, Sitharaman referring to the dialogue on climate justice spoke about the need to bring a sense of compassion towards the poor.

The Finance Minister expressed hope that the commitment made by the developed countries to provide USD 100 billion per year to developing countries would be achieved and was optimistic about a positive outcome on the new collective goals on finance in COP 26.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 countries at COP 21 in Paris, on December 12, 2015 and entered into force on November 4, 2016.

Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degree Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.