India to achieve 450 GWs of renewable energy by 2030: Modi

New Delhi: In order to adopt low-carbon and climate-resilient development practices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India is taking a big step ahead to achieve 450 GigaWatts of renewable energy by 2030.

Speaking on the occasion of virtual G-20 Summit Side Event: ‘Safeguarding the Planet - The Circular Carbon Economy Approach’, the Prime Minister said, “We will meet our goal of 175 GigaWatts of renewable energy well before the target of 2022. Now, we are taking a big step ahead by seeking to achieve 450 Giga Watts by 2030.”

He also said that “we are focused on saving our citizens and economies from the effects of the global pandemic. Equally important is to keep our focus on fighting climate change.”

Climate change must be fought not in silos but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way, he said.

“Inspired by our traditional ethos of living in harmony with the environment, and the commitment of my Government, India has adopted low-carbon and climate-resilient development practices,” Modi said.

Stating that India is not only meeting the Paris Agreement targets, Mr Modi said it is also exceeding them. Talking about LED lights, he said it saves 38 million tons of Carbon Dioxide emissions per year.

“Smoke free kitchens have been provided to over 80 million households through our Ujjwala Scheme. This is among the largest clean energy drives globally,” the prime minister said.

“There are efforts to eliminate single-use plastics; Our forest cover is Expanding; The lion and tiger population is increasing; We aim to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; And, we are encouraging a circular economy,” he added.

India is making next-generation infrastructure such as metro networks, water-ways and more, Mr Modi said.

On the International Solar Alliance (ISA), he said it is among the fastest growing International Organisations, with 88 signatories.

“With plans to mobilise billions of dollars, train thousands of stake-holders, and promote research and development in renewable energy, the ISA will contribute to reducing carbon foot-print. One more example is the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure,” he added.

“For humanity to prosper, every single individual must prosper. Rather than seeing labour as a factor of production alone, the focus must be on the human dignity of every worker. Such an approach would be the best guarantee for safeguarding our planet,” he added.