Carbon Sink [UPSC Notes]

India has committed to increasing its carbon sink by 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 but has not formally submitted to the UNFCCC the clarification that the baseline year will be 2005. In this context, let us understand what the term ‘carbon sink’ stands for and what India is doing to increase its carbon sink to meet its climate goals. This is an important topic for the IAS exam environment & ecology segment.

Carbon Sink and India’s Commitment

A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores the atmosphere’s carbon with physical and biological mechanisms. Examples of carbon sinks are plants, oceans and the soil. Protecting carbon sinks is essential for tackling climate change and keeping our climate stable.

When India updated its international climate commitments in August 2022, it increased two of the three original targets it had promised to achieve by 2030.

• It stated that it would reduce its economy’s emissions intensity — emissions per unit of GDP — by 45 percent from 2005 levels, rather than the 33 to 35 percent previously promised. 
• And that it would ensure that renewables made up at least 50% of its total installed electricity generation capacity, up from 40% previously.
• The third target, a commitment to increase its carbon sink by 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 through the establishment of additional forest and tree cover, was left unaffected. 
  • There had been no mention of this third commitment a year earlier when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India’s five-point “Panchamrit” action plan at the Glasgow climate meeting in 2021.

What is the reason for not updating India’s third target?

The apparent silence on the third commitment fueled speculation that India was falling behind on this goal — and that it might not be able to meet it. 

• According to government figures in 2022, the country’s carbon sink — the total amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by and residing in forests and trees — had increased by 703 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or roughly 120 million tonnes per year, in the six years since 2015. 
• The target of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent was unlikely to be met by 2030 at this rate.
• The carbon sink target was clearly much more ambitious – and difficult – than the other two, which had been met roughly eight years before the deadline.

Image source: The Indian Express

The question of the baseline year:

• In 2015, the carbon sink target had not been precisely defined. India committed to “creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030,” but no year was specified. 
  • That is, it did not specify the year against which this additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent carbon sink would be measured.
  • In contrast, India’s emission intensity target set 2005 as the baseline year. 
  • Furthermore, because renewable capacity was an absolute target, no baseline was required.
• Last year, the government appeared to clear up any confusion about the baseline year for the carbon sink target by committing to 2005 as the baseline. 
• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated in a written response to a Parliament question on July 25, 2022, that “India had already achieved 1.97 billion tonnes of additional carbon sink as compared to the base year of 2005.”
• “The remaining target can be achieved by increasing the country’s forest and tree cover through the implementation of various central and state-sponsored schemes,” he added.
• This 2005 baseline announcement suddenly brought the carbon sink target within easy reach. 
  • Of course, India had every right to choose 2005 as the baseline year. The Paris Agreement requires countries to set their own climate targets, including the choice of baseline year.

Also read: Carbon sequestration

Continuing Ambiguity:

• Surprisingly, just 10 days after the Parliament response, India formally submitted its updated international climate commitments to the UN climate body in August 2022, leaving the forestry target ambiguous once more. 
• The baseline year was not mentioned in India’s formal submission.
• While statements in Parliament are considered the official government position, India can only be held accountable internationally for what is contained in its official submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat.
• As of now, this appears to be a minor inconsistency, with no intention of changing the baseline year in the future. 
  • In a written communication to The Indian Express, the Environment Ministry also reaffirmed the 2005 baseline.

Conclusion: Meanwhile, the rate of increase in carbon stock in India’s forests and tree cover has been increasing, despite the fact that the total carbon stock in 2021 was slightly lower than what the FSI predicted just two years ago.

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