Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change (Part-II)

The COP 27 Summit was held in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh City in Nov., 2022.

Renewable energy would be tapped in a big way in India. By 2030, India will ensure 50% of its energy will be sourced from renewable sources. India plans to generate 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030. This marks a 50 GW increase from its current target of 450 GW.

India also committed to reducing its carbon emissions until 2030 by a billion tonnes. By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45 per cent. India is largely on track to meet, and even exceed, its Paris Agreement targets: reduce emissions' intensity of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 33 to 35 percent from 2005 levels by 2030

The UNFCCC secretariat launched its Climate Neutral Now initiative in 2015.

It is an initiative launched to urge individuals, companies, and governments to measure their climate footprint, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. The secretariat in 2016 launched a new pillar under its Momentum for Change initiative focused on Climate Neutral Now, as part of larger efforts to showcase successful climate action around the world. Climate neutrality is a three-step process, which requires individuals, companies, and governments to:

• Measure their climate footprint;
• Reduce their emissions as much as possible;
• Offset what they cannot reduce with UN certified emission reductions.

It is a fund within the framework of the UNFCCC founded as a mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. The GCF is based in the Songdo Business district of Incheon, South Korea.

It is intended to be the centerpiece of efforts to raise climate finance of $ 100 billion a year by 2020.

Hence statement (2) is not correct.

• It is the world's largest dedicated climate fund which was set up at COP 16 held in Cancun in 2010.
• It is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• It accelerates transformative climate action in developing countries through a country-owned partnership approach and use of flexible financing solutions and climate investment expertise.
• The GCF is a legally independent institution with a fully independent secretariat headed by an Executive Secretary.
• The Secretariat, located in Songdo South Korea, began its work in December 2013.

The event is usually held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m. towards the end of March, as a symbol of their commitment to the planet.

It was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. In 2024, Earth Hour was celebrated on March 23.

The Climate Action Summit reinforced the global understanding that 1.5°C is the socially, economically, politically and scientifically safe limit to global warming by the end of this century, and to achieve this, the world needs to work to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The Summit also demonstrated the need to urgently update and enhance countries' short-term commitments by 2020, and their mid-term commitments by 2030, which will be captured in their national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement.