Is India Disposing of Waste Oil Fast Enough to Meet Its Emissions Target? – World Problems
NEW DELHI, Nov 04 (IPS) – Although India continues to rely heavily on coal, the South Asian economic giant has also pushed hard for renewable energy production, especially after the cost of producing renewable energy has fallen dramatically in recent years globally.
But experts say India—the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs)—must face many headwinds to reach its net-zero goal by 2070 and, before that, a 45 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. in 2030. 2005 standards.
According to experts, addressing policy and strategy gaps are some of the key steps India needs to take for a rapid transition to renewable energy sources. But most of them believe that phasing out fossil fuels like coal appears to be a difficult task for India given its heavy reliance on them. India ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2016, committing to reduce global warming to below 2°C by the end of the century.
As part of its first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India committed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its economy by 33-35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. In August 2022, the Indian government revised its NDCs, increasing its ambition to reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels.
The south Asian country has also committed to become carbon-neutral or achieve zero carbon emissions by 2070, an announcement made by the Indian government in 2021 during CoP 26 in the UK. According to UN Climate Change Secretary General, Simon Stiell, Decarbonisation is the biggest change in the global economy this century.
Coal Will Remain ‘For India’s Development’
Currently, coal’s contribution to India’s power generation is 72 percent and accounts for 65 percent of fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Coal’s contribution to India’s power generation, experts say, will not change anytime soon.
“Coal cannot be removed from India’s energy mix in the next 20 years. We need coal because we need development-led change, not change-led development,” said Amit Garg, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). Ahmedabad-Gujarat. “We can use new technologies and try new methods, but we in India cannot do away with coal yet.”
Anjan Kumar Sinha, energy expert and technical director of Intertek, told IPS that India’s energy security is currently dependent on coal and it will take time to phase it out given how the country is still poised for rapid phase-out. of coal, which is currently very important to India’s energy security.
“Finally, we must improve the flexibility of coal-fired power plants to deliver electricity, especially with increasing levels of renewable energy,” he said.
According to Sinha, coal is an important source of energy that India has, “we need to wash away our sins” with the continued increase in the production of renewables. India, Sinha said, “has to save itself … it cannot leave it to the rest of the world.”
India has been praised for the progress the country has made in its clean energy transition in recent years. The Indian government aims to increase non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 GW and source 50 percent of its power from renewables by 2030.
“Progress appears to be encouraging on many fronts. Today, India ranks fourth in the world in terms of renewables, showing a 400 percent growth over the past decade,” notes an article published by researchers at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business.
But, despite this progress, the authors say India faces many challenges as it still relies heavily on fossil fuels.
India’s Growth and Green Journey
As India’s economy is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, there will be an increase in the demand for resources, and the environmental footprint will also increase. According to the latest World Energy Outlook report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), India’s energy consumption will increase by 30 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050, carbon emissions from energy use will increase by 32 percent and percent 72 at the same time. .
If it succeeds in meeting its climate commitments over the next seven years, India could offer a development model where the country continues to grow and prosper without increasing its energy or carbon footprint. But the road ahead for India’s energy transition is fraught with significant challenges.
“This is one of the most difficult times in India. We have the challenge of growth, jobs and energy consumption, which we have to balance with environmental considerations,” said BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Ayog, India’s top executive. was quoted as saying by the Indian daily, Times of India, on September 11, 2024.
But he stressed that fossil fuels will continue to fuel the country’s growth. “It is no longer about growth and sustainability, but growth and sustainability,” he was quoted as saying.
Experts also believe that there are obstacles in the way as the country wants to eliminate energy sources that pollute water.
According to this article published in Outlook magazine on October 30, uncertainties such as low investment in renewable energy (RE) in recent years, land availability, high rest of renewables, high costs of panels due to import duties and distribution companies are tied in. A long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) that does not buy new RE power is one of the major concerns.
“Although there has been progress in the deployment of electric vehicles in the country, the upfront costs and the lack of reliable charging infrastructure pose challenges in scaling up the systems… he says.
Raghav Pachouri, associate director, Low Carbon Pathways and Modelling, Vasudha Foundation, emphasized how storage can play an important role in making the energy transition successful.
“The success of the energy transition to renewable energy lies in the integration of the storage area. The current capacity is limited, and the number of needs is great.”
In addition, Pachouri says, the infrastructure for electric vehicles remains insufficient, as there are less than 2,000 public charging stations by 2023.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
