Annual global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions would fall by more than 2 billion tonnes in 2030 if measures targeted by India’s Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) are adopted worldwide, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the LiFE initiative at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, with the goal of encouraging adoption of sustainable lifestyles to tackle the environment and climate crisis.
G20 presidency: A unique opportunity
The IEA report comes ahead of India’s first major event — India Energy Week 2023 — under the country’s G20 presidency.
“India’s G20 Presidency this year represents a unique opportunity to globalise the LiFE initiative — providing a knowledge-sharing platform for other leading economies to realise the impact that LiFE’s recommendations can have in the fight against climate change, air pollution and unaffordable energy bills. Since the G20 makes up nearly 80 percent of global energy demand, meaningful changes by its members can make a big difference,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of IEA.
According to the report, LiFE measures would also save consumers globally around $440 billion in 2030, which will be equivalent to around 5 percent of all fuel spends projected across the global economy for that year.
The Indian government has pledged to achieve its net-zero emissions targets by 2070 and is therefore focusing on measures targeting energy transition.
Reducing inequality
The IEA report said LiFE measures also help lower inequalities in energy consumption and emissions between countries. The reductions in per capita CO2 emissions in advanced economies by 2030 (relative to a ‘business-as-usual’ trajectory) will be three to four times greater than in emerging market and developing economies, the report said.
The Objective of the LiFE Mission — a developed version of LiFE which was launched in October 2022 — is to mobilise at least one billion Indians and other global citizens to take individual and collective action to protect and conserve the environment in the 2022-28 period. The idea is to prompt interrelated shifts in the approaches of individuals, industry and government policy.
The IEA report stated that India’s economy is already 10 percent more energy efficient than both the global and G20 average. India took less time to go from half to full electricity access than other major economies, it added.
The LiFE Mission is being piloted by NITI Aayog and will be implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
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