The Way to a Green Future

Though India's per capita CO2 emission is one of the lowest in the world, it must carefully phase down thermal energy while reducing the carbon footprint

- PRANAV ADANI

At the recent United Nations COP28 climate summit in Dubai, two terms took centre stage in discussions: mitigation and adaptation. The former refers to efforts made to decrease carbon emissions, urging nations to commit to reducing the release of greenhouse gases. The latter focusses on the adjustments that countries need to make to address these transformations.

Though it has one of the lowest per capita CO2 emissions and energy consumption rates in the world, India has done remarkable work on both counts. Qatar has the highest CO2 emissions per capita at 36 tonnes per person; for the US, the figure is around 15 tonnes per person, while in India it is only 2 tonnes, much lower even than the world average of 5 tonnes. In simple terms, it means that the average Indian household consumes only a tenth of the electricity consumed by an average household in the US.