India 'confident' it can cut emissions by 35% by 2030: minister

India has committed to cutting its "carbon intensity" by up to 35 percent from 2005 levels by 2030

NEW DELHI - India, the world's third biggest carbon emitter, is "confident" it can cut emissions by at least 35 percent by 2030, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday.

"It is a huge jump for India, therefore it is a very ambitious target," he said, after India submitted a new plan for tackling climate change to the UN ahead of a major environment conference in Paris in November.

In its pledges, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs, India committed to cut its "carbon intensity" by up to 35 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, the document published on a UN website early Friday said.

Carbon intensity refers to the ratio of a country's emissions to its economic output.

India also committed to generating 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2030.

"We are much too dependent on fossil fuels now," Javadekar said, describing the new goals as "comprehensive, ambitious and progressive".