India’s secretary for the environment, R.P. Gupta, told reporters on Wednesday that his government will not commit to a “net zero” target for carbon emissions.

He explained that India wants to reduce carbon emissions but focus on immediate measures instead of discussing arbitrary future targets.

“It is how much carbon you are going to put in the atmosphere before reaching net zero that is more important,” Gupta said.

Reuters detected some skepticism in Gupta’s remarks about headline-grabbing but implausible commitments to net zero by other countries, including India’s friend the United States and its rival China:

The United States, Britain and the European Union have set a target date of 2050 to reach net zero, by which point they will only emit an amount of greenhouse gases that can be absorbed by forests, crops, soils and still-embryonic “carbon capture technology.

China and Saudi Arabia have both set targets of 2060, but these are largely meaningless without tangible action now, critics say.

Between now and the middle of the century the United States will release 92 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere and the EU 62 gigatons, Gupta said, citing Indian government calculations. China would have added a staggering 450 gigatons by its net zero target date, he added.

India, considered the third-largest producer of greenhouse gases after the U.S. and China, is under intense pressure to announce a similar net zero commitment at next week’s COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to speak at the conference.

U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)

The Times of India argued Modi has no reason to be apologetic or defensive because India is making impressive commitments to renewable energy without signing any net zero pledges.

India’s ambitious 450 GW renewable energy goal by 2030, Hydrogen mission, plan to move Indian railways to ‘net-zero’ emission by 2030, land degradation neutrality and massive program to increase forest cover (natural carbon sink) would be the country’s key driving points at COP26.

… It is expected that the Prime Minister would urge more and more countries to actively take part in three key multilateral institutions/efforts – International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) – to strengthen mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement. All these three multilateral efforts are being spearheaded by India with France being a major partner in the ISA and Sweden in LeadIT.

The Hindustan Times suggested India will counter demands for a net zero pledge by insisting “wealthy nations take stronger action to curtail emissions so that developing countries like India have room to grow.” 

An Indian environmental ministry official told the Hindustan Times that “net zero for a later date is on the platter as an option.” The official suggested wealthier nations could consider moving up their net zero pledges to 2030 or earlier to give India and developing nations more time to adjust their output and set net zero targets for later than mid-century.

“The decision will be taken at the highest level of the government, as it involves India’s growth trajectory,” the official said.

Another counter-demand by India could be “historical emissions” taxes on carbon, which would retroactively tax more developed nations for their carbon production in decades past. 

Indian economists argued that America and China will consume too much of the world’s sharply restricted “carbon budget” in years to come, leaving little room for India and other developing nations to increase industrial output while developing cleaner technologies.