After 7.93% reduction in GHG emissions, India committed to sustainable future: Centre

New Delhi, Jan 12: India, which achieved a 7.93 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 compared to 2019, is demonstrating its commitment to a sustainable, climate-resilient future, the government said on Sunday.

The country pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in 2021, said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in a statement.

India’s 4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) highlighted a 7.93 percent reduction in GHG emissions in 2020 compared to 2019. The country submitted BUR-4 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on December 30, 2024.

“Excluding Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF), India’s emissions were 2,959 million tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent, a way to measure the impact of GHG),” the report mentioned.

Including LULUCF, net emissions were 2,437 million tonnes of CO2e. The energy sector was the largest contributor, accounting for 75.66 percent of emissions, along with other land use, sequestered approximately 522 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to reducing 22 percent of the country’s total emissions.