Biennial Update Report (BUR)

India recently submitted its latest Biennial Update Report-4 ( BUR 4 ) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The report contains the national GHG inventory for the year 2020, and has submitted that India is on track to meet its climate commitments.

About Biennial Update Report or BUR

Under the UNFCCC framework, developing countries are obliged to submit a detailed report on their efforts towards climate action.
This report is submitted as part of obligations under the Paris climate agreement, called the Biennial Update Report or BUR.
Key submissions in BURs include:
- an overview of the country’s climate,
- socio-economic conditions
- forestry, and
- a detailed inventory of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, their sources, and natural absorption mechanisms.
It contains important updates on national action plans to mitigate emissions, methods to measure those actions along with information on the financial, technological and capacity-building support the country has received to combat climate change.

GDP emission intensity:

GDP emission intensity refers to the reduction in the GHG emissions per unit of economic output.
- Switching from fossil fuel to renewables and fossil fuel to electricity, are some of the examples of reducing emissions intensity.

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Key Highlights of Biennial Update Report-4 (BUR 4)

India’s Commitment to Emission Intensity Reduction: India has committed to reduce its GDP emission intensity by 45% compared to 2005 levels by 2030.
- BUR-4 has submitted that between 2005 and 2020, India’s emissions intensity of GDP reduced by 36%.
GHG emissions: The biggest highlight of BUR-4 is that in 2020, India’s total GHG emissions were 2,959 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent.
- After counting the absorption by forestry sector and land resources, the country’s net emissions were 2,437 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Total national emissions: The total national emissions (including land use, land-use change, and forestry) fell 7.93% compared to 2019, although it has increased by 98.34% since 1994, as per BUR-4.
Sector wise Emissions: Energy ( 75.66%) > Agriculture( 13.72%) > Industrial Process and Product Use (8.06%) > Waste (2.56%)
Generation of Carbon Sinks: An additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2 have been created through forest and tree cover (2005 to 2021)
- Forest and tree cover: Currently stands at 25.17% of the country’s total geographical area and has consistently increased
Main contributors to the total GHG emission are CO2 emissions generated from Burning fossil fuels, methane emissions from livestock, and increasing aluminium and cement production
Breakdown of GHG Emissions: A breakdown of the emissions based on the GHGs revealed that CO2 accounted for 80.53% of emissions, followed by methane (13.32%), nitrous oxide (5.13%) and others 1.02%.
Barriers to Technology Adoption: India is largely relying on domestic resources, barriers such as slow technology transfer and intellectual property rights are impeding the adoption of new technologies.

Recommendation

Advanced technology for low-carbon growth: India needs advanced technology for low-carbon growth and to adapt to impacts of climate change.

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About UNFCCC

It is a primary multilateral treaty governing actions to combat climate change through adaptation and mitigation efforts directed at control of emission of GHGs that cause global warming.
Negotiated: It was signed at Conference on Environment & D
Headquartered: Bonn, Germany
It came into force on 21st March 1994.
Focus: To stabilise Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would stop dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
Nodal agency for the UNFCCC in India: Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Additional Reading: United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change (UNFCCC): Evolution, Full Form & Initiative

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