At the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 2070 as the target for India to reach net zero carbon emissions.

Key Points
• It is for the first time at the Glasgow summit that India has set a net zero target. Net zero means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• India’s announcement came as a surprise to delegates in Glasgow, as India had earlier rejected calls to announce such target.
• US, UK & Japan have net zero target by 2050; EU by 2060; Saudi Arabia, China & Russia by 2070.

What is net-zero target?
A net-zero target is defined as date by which a country will only emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases that can be absorbed by forests, soil, crops, and developing technologies such as carbon capture technology.

Which countries are the top Greenhouse Gas Emitters?
China, United States, India and Russia are the top greenhouse gas emitters. India is the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and is among the countries which are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As per Global Climate Risk Index 2021, India is the seventh-most affected nation by extreme weather events.

India's net zero pledge
With a view to achieving India’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, Prime Minister Modi made four other aggressive pledges, all of them to be achieved by 2030. These short-term ambitions targets to be achieved by 2030 are:
• 50% of power will come from renewables by 2030.
• 500 GW of installed renewable energy capacity will be reached by 2030.
• Reduction in carbon intensity by 45% by 2030.
• Reduction in projected total carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030.

India further seeks to reduce its projected total carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes by the end of the decade.