India Says It Doesn’t Have to Declare When Its Carbon Emissions Will Peak

India, the world’s third largest carbon emitter, has said that it doesn’t need to declare the year in which its carbon emissions will peak.

The remarks were made by the Minister for the Environment, Prakash Javadekar, during an interview with the BBC, and came two days after China declared that it intends to hit peak emissions by 2030.

Scientists say that carbon emissions need to peak globally very soon to avoid disastrous climate change.

Every country partaking in the Paris climate talks in December is expected to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) before the conference. According to the BBC, 40 countries have already established a peak year for their emissions goals.

However, Javadekar argued that the country’s clear development needs absolved it of needing to announce an emissions peak in its INDC report, the BBC said.

Like China, India’s main source of emissions is coal. Beijing and New Delhi have banded together in the past to argue that developed, Western countries should shoulder more responsibility for climate action than developing countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made many public pronouncements of India’s commitment to fighting climate change through solar, wind and hydro power, but the country has taken little concrete action yet.

[BBC]