2022 was a crucial year for India in combating climate change, reverse nature loss

New Delhi: India set ambitious climate goals in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promises made in Glasgow and took crucial steps for environment protection and wildlife conservation in 2022, including the launch of Mission LiFE and the reintroduction of Cheetah 70 years after the species became extinct in the country.
The country established Asia’s largest Ramsar Sites network in the 75th year of Independence, introduced a ban on harmful single-use plastic items, and passed the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022 to strengthen the protection of endangered species and enhance punishment for illegal wildlife trade.
The government strengthened air pollution reduction targets under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and implemented a comprehensive policy to fight winter pollution in Delhi-NCR. Calling on people to adopt an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on mindful and deliberate utilisation instead of mindless and wasteful consumption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in October launched Mission LiFE, a global plan of action aimed at saving the planet from the disastrous consequences of climate change.
The cover decision of the UN climate summit in Egypt also noted the importance of transition to sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production for efforts to address climate change. India updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in August 2022, seven years after it first submitted its plans to fight climate change to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.The country is now committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 as against the earlier target of 33-35 per cent (compared to 2005 emission levels).