Strategies for Reducing Carbon Footprint and Promoting Sustainable Policies in India

The term "sustainable strategy" refers to a strategy that is sustainable from an economic, environmental, and social perspective for India. Since this is the case, significant economic growth is required in order to combat poverty and advance human development. On the other hand, the country's energy resources are significantly limited, which presents a significant obstacle. At the same time, the usage of coal, which is the only energy resource that India possesses in a significant quantity, has become more difficult due to the increase in concerns regarding climate change. In order to achieve sustainable development, India's policy must investigate all possible means of lowering the country's energy requirements, improving the effectiveness of the utilization of existing energy resources, and developing new and renewable sources of energy. A number of different technical solutions, their potential functions, and alternative policy measures that could be implemented to materialize them in a costeffective manner are all identified in this article. Even given the same aims, there are a variety of policy instruments accessible, and the manner in which one selects a particular instrument is frequently crucial to the achievement of the desired results. A policy that is compatible with incentives and can be implemented by itself should be preferred since it does not create vested interests that would become entrenched. It is necessary for India's economy to expand at a rate of 8–10% per year for a period of two–three decades in order to address its human development deficit. In order to supply the necessary public services of infrastructure, education, and health, as well as to offer chances for productive jobs that pay adequately to meet basic necessities, economic growth is required. This kind of growth, in conjunction with India's expanding population and limited natural resources, has the potential to place a considerable strain on the environment and naturally occurring resources. In 2007, India's total emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) amounted to 1727.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (eq). Of these, 1221.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), 20.6 million tonnes of carbon monoxide (CH4), and 0.57 million tonnes of nitrogen dioxide (N2O) were released into the atmosphere. During the year 2007, the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per person, which included emissions from land use, land use change, and forests (LULUCF), was 1.5 tonnes per person.