Last year at COP27 India became a member of the "Middle East Green Initiative" to help plant 50 billion trees, that you can see at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO8PcbxOu0Y -- India Minister of Environment spoke.

Dr Craig Carlton Dremann thank you for your contribution to the discussion

India's domestic policy on climate and environmental action includes protecting regional glaciers, greening the railway system, reducing single-use plastic and producing clean cooking fuel. India aims to reach net zero by 2070 and has been able to decouple its economic growth from its emissions. The Climate Change Performance Index 2023 report was released recently and India secured 8th position in the index which is 2 positions up from the last edition. Climate change is expected to have major health impacts in India- increasing malnutrition and related health disorders such as child stunting - with the poor likely to be affected most severely. Child stunting is projected to increase by 35% by 2050 compared to a scenario without climate change. Undoubtedly one of the most pressing environmental issues in India is air pollution. According to the 2021 World Air Quality Report, India is home to 63 of the 100 most polluted cities, with New Delhi named the capital with the worst air quality in the world. The main causes of climate change in India are as : An increase of greenhouse gases like Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Carbon dioxide (CO2), and Ozone (O3) in the atmosphere and deforestation to develop human settlements and excessive usage of fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature. India has the world's highest social cost of carbon. A report by the London-based global think tank Overseas Development Institute found that India may lose anywhere around 3–10% of its GDP annually by 2100 and its poverty rate may raise by 3.5% in 2040 due to climate change. It is estimated that India could account for about 3.4 crore of the projected eight crore global job losses from heat stress by 2030. The Reserve Bank of India's latest report suggests that up to 4.5 per cent of India's GDP could be at risk by 2030, owing to lost labour hours from extreme heat and humidity. Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will lead to further climate changes. Future changes are expected to include a warmer atmosphere, a warmer and more acidic ocean, higher sea levels, and larger changes in precipitation patterns. Similarly, future precipitation projections reveal that monsoon precipitation is expected to increase significantly over most parts of the Indian landmass. We find that the temperature will increase steadily in future during all the seasons, with maximum warming of ~4–5°C by the end of the current century.

Per climate change - the conventional relevant metric is carbon dioxide emissions. India's continue to increase. https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/india#what-are-the-country-s-annual-co2-emissions

"Green railway", single use plastics and the boiler plate commitment of to a target almost 4 decades in the future are irrelevant.

Along with joining the "Middle East Green Initiative" to plant millions of trees, India has also been a pioneer to buy the first "Carbon Neutral oil" from Occidental Petroleum a couple of years ago. That way, when that oil is burned, then the carbon has already been tucked away. India is also taking the lead to go beyond "Caron Neutral" and promoting "Carbon Negative" that you can read at https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/india-push-developed-nations-become-carbon-negative-before-2050-sources-2023-10-13/

The next step would be, to add a 5% Ecological Restoration/Carbon Sequestration fee on the one billion tons of coal consumed in India each year and use those funds to start replanting the native trees and native grasses in the Thar desert and other degraded lands, and use those areas as the Carbon Sinks for the whole country--to make the burning of that coal, Carbon Neutral.

Craig Carlton Dremann

Promises and commitments mean nothing until realized. India's emissions are increasingare increasing now https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/india#what-are-the-country-s-annual-co2-emissions

This is no criticism of India. Placing its citizens and their near term economic welfare first is the right thing to do.

Dr Phil Geis and Dr Craig Carlton Dremann thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will lead to further climate changes. Future changes are expected to include a warmer atmosphere, a warmer and more acidic ocean, higher sea levels, and larger changes in precipitation patterns. Climate risks could affect the Budget and the overall fiscal outlook through a number of pathways, including altering total tax revenue through effects on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and changing Federal spending to respond to climate impacts, both to ameliorate climate damages and spur the transition to clean. Climate shifts like heat waves could restrict the ability of people to work outdoor, and, in extreme cases, put their lives at risk. Under a 2050 climate scenario developed by NASA, continuing growth of the greenhouse emission at today's rate could lead to additional global warming of about 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. Across the globe, in response to increases in heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, temperature and precipitation patterns are changing. The rate of climatic change in the next century is expected to be significantly higher than it has been in the past. It is estimated that India could account for about 3.4 crore of the projected eight crore global job losses from heat stress by 2030. The Reserve Bank of India's latest report suggests that up to 4.5 per cent of India's GDP could be at risk by 2030, owing to lost labour hours from extreme heat and humidity. In India (and all over the world), you can see the effects of rising temperatures everywhere you look as the climate crisis disrupts our daily lives and critical sectors like our energy, agriculture, and transportation systems. This spring, India sweltered through its hottest March on record. Heat waves' frequency and intensity are increasing in India because of climate change. Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam. Coal-fired power plants account for a significant portion of India's energy production, resulting in high greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. Despite efforts to increase renewable energy capacity, the continued use of coal hampers India's progress in mitigating climate change.A changing climate could have devastating effects on India's coastal settlements, infrastructure and ecosystems. Rising sea levels, coastal erosion and changing storm patterns could see 21 million people exposed to devastating floods by 2050, if it follows a high carbon pathway. In order to alleviate the pressure of global warming, three countries developed frameworks, policies, and laws to strive to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate in their own country along with support to developing countries.