(CNBC) Some of the world’s largest polluters were under the spotlight at the COP26 summit Monday, as countries outlined their commitments on climate change.
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, a date two decades beyond the target set by COP26 organizers and host Boris Johnson, the U.K.’s prime minister.
Modi said the country had five climate-related pledges, including meeting 50% of its energy needs by renewable means by 2030.
“By 2070, India will achieve the target of net zero emissions,” he added, during a speech delivered Monday. The country is the world’s third-largest carbon emitter.
India represents 17% of the world’s population and 5% of the carbon emissions, Modi said, adding that it had “delivered both in letter and in spirit on its Paris commitments,” referring to the 2015 Paris Agreement where nations made the 1.5 degrees Celsius pledge. But to do so, the world needs to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
