Context : India’s carbon sink target is clearly much more ambitious and difficult than the other two that had been achieved about eight years before the deadline.
What is a carbon sink?
- A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases – for example, plants, the ocean, and soil.
Efforts to enhance carbon sinks:
- Reversing historical wrongs:
- Many efforts are being made to enhance natural carbon sinks to mainly soils and forests to mitigate climate change.
- These efforts counter-historical trends caused by practices like deforestation and industrial agriculture which depleted natural carbon sinks; land use, land-use change, and forestry historically have been important human contributions to climate change.
- Artificial sequestrations:
- To enhancing natural processes, investments in artificial sequestration initiatives are underway to store carbon in building materials or deep underground.
- Conservation of Heritage forests:
- UNESCO World Heritage forests can continue to be reliable carbon sinks if they are effectively protected from local and global threats.
- India’s Sundarbans National Park is among five sites that have the highest blue carbon stocks globally
- UNESCO World Heritage forests can continue to be reliable carbon sinks if they are effectively protected from local and global threats.
Challenge in meeting India’s carbon sink :
- Unavailability of accurate data.
- Conversion of natural forests
- Pressure on land
- Lack of funding
- Lack of awareness
India’s commitment to the carbon sink:
- India has pledged to increase its carbon sink by 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 through the creation of additional forest and tree cover.
- India aims to reduce the Emissions Intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from the 2005 level.
- Achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
India’s progress towards its carbon sink target
- India has already achieved 24.6% of its carbon sink target as of 2017.
- Due to afforestation and tree plantation programs, such as the Green India Mission and the National Afforestation Programme.
Read more : Global Shield Plan
CARBON SINK Targets,CARBON SINK Targets
