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Unpacking the Paris Agreement: implications and state of preparedness-India

A background paper that unpacks the Paris Agreement and assesses its implications for India. The Paris Agreement aims to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels, and further limit the increase to 1.5 C, to reduce risks and impacts of climate change. India submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC on October 1, 2015 in time for the COP 21. The tangible targets that India has put forward are: Reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 33 percent to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level; To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy sources by 2030; To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. Assessments suggest that India's INDC lacks clarity on emissions intensity in the base year (2005) and target year (2030), information necessary to understand India's contribution towards meeting the global temperature goal.