India's GDP can rise to 7.3% by 2032 with 2050 net-zero aim: Research

26 Aug '22

2 min read

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India could boost its gross domestic product (GDP) by 7.3 per cent ($470 billion) and create almost 20 million additional jobs by 2032 if it ramps up its ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, new research commissioned by the High-level Policy Commission on Getting Asia to Net Zero shows. India achieving net zero by 2070 would boost its annual GDP by up to 4.7 per cent by 2036.

Net zero implies achieving a balance between the greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere and those taken out.

The commission has four members: former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, former vice chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya and Vivek Pathak, global head and director of climate business at the International Finance Corporation.

Launched in May this year, the commission unveiled the ‘Getting India to Net Zero’ report recently.

The notable benefits for Indians from achieving net zero include a net increase in employment opportunities, creating 15 million jobs beyond a baseline scenario by 2047. Households could save as much as $9.7 billion in energy costs by 2060, it said.

But a major challenge will be finance, as India will need around $10.1 trillion in cumulative economy-wide investment to meet its 2070 target.

As the host of the G20 in 2023, India can showcase its action and encourage other countries to follow suit, cooperate and invest, Panagariya said.

While India could decarbonise using carbon revenues or other domestic tax-raising mechanisms to fund green investments, leveraging international support would free up domestic finance for development, poverty reduction and management of social impacts, helping mitigate the negative impacts on households from higher prices and taxes, the commission’s report added.

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