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Modi Rejects West's Climate Narrative, Cites India's Low Emissions

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PM Modi challenged the West's climate narrative, noting India's per capita carbon emissions are less than half the global average and its record leads the G20.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday challenged the narrative that places the burden for carbon emissions on developing nations while excusing Western countries from their role as historical polluters. Speaking at an international conference titled "The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics," organised by the National Green Tribunal, he said India holds the strongest record among G20 nations on climate.

"In developed countries, per capita carbon emissions are six times higher than India's," Modi said. "India presents this fact strongly on global platforms. We are establishing new benchmarks for environmental protection by taking the world along." He said India offers solutions to modern climate challenges even though its per capita emissions remain less than half the global average.

The figures underline his argument. India's cumulative contribution to global carbon emissions between 1751 and 2024 stands at just 3.5%. Over the same period the United States accounts for 23.5%, China 15.4%, Russia 6.6%, Germany 5.1% and the United Kingdom 4.3%.

India is currently the world's third-largest emitter, but its per capita emissions tell a different story. At 2.2 tonnes per person each year, India sits below half the global average of 4.7 tonnes, and roughly six times under the United States at 14.2 tonnes and Russia at 14 tonnes.

Modi framed the point as a matter of equity, arguing that big polluters who built their economies by burning fossil fuels over the past two centuries drove global warming and should shoulder deeper cuts. India, he stressed, has not stepped back from its own responsibilities and has met its pledges under the Paris Agreement.

"India is the only country in G20 that has fulfilled all the commitments it made at the COP21 summit in Paris, and has done so ahead of schedule," he said. "This is the strength of 'Hindustan' that I am talking about. On every parameter - non-fossil fuel, solar energy capacity, curbing carbon emissions - India's performance is today a subject of positive discussion worldwide."

He urged the audience - jurists, academicians, policymakers, scientists and environmental experts drawn from 17 countries - to examine the numbers for themselves.

The remarks come as governments prepare for the global climate conference scheduled for November. Looking ahead to COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India would keep pressing for climate action built on equity, implementation and the needs of vulnerable countries.

PM Modi, carbon emissions, India climate action, COP31 Antalya, per capita emissions, Paris Agreement, NGT conference, Bhupender Yadav

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