The economic benefits of India stepping up its transition to climate neutrality by 2070 are immense, which scale up considerably if India reaches net zero by 2050, according to a report by the High-Level Policy Commission on Getting Asia to Net Zero constituted by the New York-based think tank, Asia Society Policy Institute.
Speaking to ET, Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and CEO of the Asia Society, explained that the objective is to be “helpful and supporting governments get to net zero. And to do so not just with earnest moral wishes but to do so with econometric modelling that demonstrates how it can be done that is consistent with continued economic growth”.
The report forecasts that this transition could provide a boost of up to 4.7% to the GDP by 2036, while creating as many as 15 million new jobs by 2047.
Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved India’s updated nationally determined contributions, that are to be submitted soon ahead of the September 23 deadline by the UNFCCC. The enhanced goals draw on the Prime Minister’s announcements at COP26 in Glasgow but do not include all of them. “Most sensible governments under promise and over deliver, I expect the same from the Government of India,” said the former Australian PM.
Rudd stressed that the transition is a challenge and opportunity. “There are three big things staring at the world economy, energy security in terms of international fossil fuel supplies, supply chain disruptions, and consumers increasingly demanding green supply chains,” he said. Given this and that the world is demanding manufactured goods, India has the opportunity to ride a whole new wave of manufacturing that is less carbon intensive.
“A choice between dealing with older plant and equipment in China, which is much less carbon friendly, and newly installed renewable capacity in India, the current geopolitical scenario with the selected economic decoupling of parts of the world with China, and the supply chain resilience question—put together it potentially puts India in a new winning position in terms of engineering the transformation,” said Rudd.
He also points to the possibility of India emerging as a centre for low cost green manufacturing.
Optimistic about India, the former Australian PM said, “On one side, we see massive economic and energy transition, on the other, we see a massive opportunity. It depends, therefore, which way you look at it. What I am impressed by is that Prime Minister Modi has chosen to look at as the latter.
” That, according to Rudd, is a significant change. “What I have seen in past periods of India’s recent political economy history is its political and bureaucratic leaders looking at it through the problem lens alone. I have seen this change; it is quite a significant change notwithstanding the work that needs to be done.”
Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2022/aug/28/sunet-bottomline/sensible-govts-under-promise-and-over-deliver-i-expect-it-from-india/articleshow/93826587.cms