Mitigating greenhouse effect in India through gradual shift to renewable energy

Abstract

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased from an average of 6.3 Pg-C year-1 during 1990-99 to 7.8 Pg-C year-1 during 2000-09. In this context, although the global emissions fell to 0.5% in 2014, there is a need to drastically alter the current path of development because it has been observed that the burden of climate change is disproportionately high on developing countries such as India. Here, the rising global warming predicts a dangerous scenario on agriculture, poverty alleviation efforts and infant mortality rate. The current negative impact of energy generation by fossil fuels can be checked by prudent management of existing resources followed by enhanced use of renewable energy sources to meet the requirements of the world, without emulating the carbon-intensive model of the past. In this study strategies have been proposed for the next 40 years to allow government agencies to observe changes in the climate along with analysing the impact of mitigation measures implemented.