Net Zero Emissions India by 2035

Perceptions by Sanskrit Sharma, A seventh-grader at Amity International School, Noida

Air pollution is a serious problem in India which we need to tackle soon enough, or it may be just too late for us to do anything. There are 3 human-induced sources of air pollution:

1. Mobile Sources: – Cars, Buses, Airplanes, etc.
2. Stationary Sources: – Power Plants, Factories, etc.
3. Area Sources: – Stubble Burning, Fireplaces, Woodburning etc.

Most of the emissions come from mobile sources as they account for 20-50% of all emissions. This is one of the reasons why electric cars are receiving great popularity in India and are talked and innovated about a lot. However, this is only part of the problem as there are still 50-80% emissions left from the other 2 sources that need to be taken care of. Factories emit huge amounts of Carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide (the main cause of acid rain) every day and also discharge chemicals into the wastewater, often directly discharged into river streams and water bodies in our country.

If we don’t find a way to use renewable energy sources or find greater and safer use of advanced energy technologies like nuclear fusion to meet our ever-increasing demands for electricity and power, we would cause irreparable damage to the health of our Environment and even make pose a threat to our existence. Hence, it is essential that we move fast on the pathways of renewables and clean and green sources of mobility and power and also amend our lifestyle and control our greed for more and more consumption and use of resources so that we meet the needs of seven billion+ of people on planet earth and create a bright and green future for humanity.

It is, therefore, important that right from the school level to the level of university we deliberate and discuss mega-challenges such as climate change, mounting pollution levels in both air and water and also the human behaviour largely impacted by our mindless actions. We need to echo sustainability and green practices in all our educational campuses so that the students carry home the message loud and clear and together with their parents become ambassadors of the change that we all wish to see in us as well as all around.

We must face climate change with courage and confidence backed by our scientific acumen and innovative genius. We must also remember that every age has its own challenges that they must greet and meet with clarity and certainty and leave behind a better world than the world we inherited from our ancestors.

We must also remember that like attitudes, the industrial systems of production do not change overnight. If we implement all changes in one day, it will be a great disaster for all economies of the world. Therefore, it is important to steadily implement the agenda for change for a green future for which we are all eager to create.

I was curiously watching the heads of the nations congregating at COP 26 recently and discussing the ways to tackle the monster of Climate Change together and achieve the goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2035. Some countries, including India said that we shall achieve the goal by 2050, some 30 years from now while another giant economy like China said they shall achieve the goal by 2070, that is after almost 50 years. This was perhaps to emphasize that the developing economies have not contributed to climate change as much as the developed economies like US, Russia, European Union, etc. But we the Teenagers cannot wait till 2050 and surely not till 2070 as we have now understood the power of technology innovations that are a major attraction to the children of my age.

I must also not hesitate to mention that while we develop and implement technology innovations for Net Zero Emissions, we should without loss of time act to clean our roads, dirty drains, and create a great civic sense to refrain from causing pollution and waste. Young kids like me cannot afford to wait for actions that should be taken now.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan must continue to be made a mass movement so that all of us, no matter of what age engage individually and collectively in creating a neat and clean surrounding in our country, India that we love so much and are proud of its heritage.

We can surely achieve the goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2035 or even earlier provided all nations of the world engage their inspired innovative minds to work unitedly for accelerating scientific advancements and technology innovations to a new high, this time with the singular goal of achieving the highest levels of sustainability in all aspects of societal and industrial activity. We need to integrate a green mindset and green practices everywhere as every drop counts for water security and every unit of electricity also counts for assuring a green future.

My grandfather often tells me about the time when he was a school kid like me, the environment was highly healthy, the air was pure and the water of rivers and water bodies was so clean and pure that you could drink it directly without any treatment. No wonder they were calling the air “PranVayu” that is the life current and water as the “Amrit” that is the Nectar of Divine. The two together along with a lifestyle based on body and mind fitness and engagement in work activity with devotion and in service of society and mother nature, made life a celebration of divine. My grandfather’s mother, my Grand grandmother lived a happy and healthy life for 101 years without the use of modern medicines or healthcare. This of course is a matter of pride and also a matter of hope for our generation and new age learners who are aspiring to change the world.

So, the Net Zero Emissions is an achievable goal that we cannot put on the backburner now that new and innovative solutions and innovative technologies are becoming increasingly available to provide a great and rapid transition to a green future. Take for example the EVs, the Electric Vehicles, that we everyday note that all the automobile manufacturers are desirous to roll out on roads. Some new and innovative entrepreneurs are also emerging to give a great challenge to the reputed manufacturers of automobiles with their innovative designs and innovative solutions.
We must not forget that the young innovators can cause a mega-breakthrough like Paytm by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Amazon by Jeff Bezos, that became the world beaters and gave a great challenge to the existing players in their respective domains. Kumar Saurav also later became the first successful young EV innovator who rolled out his Evs for commercial cargo vehicles on roads of India through his newly established Euler motors. I feel so excited because both Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Kumar Saurav have their alma matter in Delhi College of Engineering (Now DTU) in which campus I have spent my childhood in the residence of my grandfather who was then the Vice-Chancellor of DTU.

Naturally, our immediate attention has to be on green mobility and wastewater technologies but we must employ our innovative genius in India in a whole lot of innovative solutions such as green communication, green businesses, green governance, green electronics and green power from renewable to meet all our future needs.

I hope and pray that during our studies at school and later at the university we create in ourselves an avoiding faith in compliance of green practices and capabilities to be part of the solution of not only today’s but tomorrow’s challenges such that we assure a green and bright future for our generations and for the generations to come. But we must act and act fast so that the assurances given at the COP 26 summit become our charter of actions with convection