Sectoral consultations on emission cut targets begin

The Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Ministry has been asked to engage the largest polluting industries like the automobile and cement, giving them the emission cut targets, a senior official said.

Similar advisory has also gone to several other ministries such as transport, power and agriculture for determining the pollution limits for different sectors.

"Very shortly, the sector-wise allocation of reduction will emerge," he said.
He said consultations with the automobile industry have already begun. Fixing the pollution threshold involves "data collection and their extrapolation depending on the technology", he said.

The Planning Commission has also constituted an expert group headed by prominent economist Kirit Parikh to prepare a strategy for making the country's economy low carbon intensive.The group has been formed in keeping with India's commitment to make it a "low carbon"’ economy for which it has recently announced voluntary and unilateral targets to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 20-25 per cent.
The 25-member panel will present an interim report by April end.

Though India's unsupported emission mitigation plan is not subject to international scrutiny, it has taken a commitment under the Copenhagen Accord to subject its measures to the international "analysis and consultations" under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).