Few countries have made such dramatic commitments to a net zero future than India, despite its current reliance on coal as the primary source of power. Accepting the ground reality that the 1.4 billion people need access to energy; the nation has been rolling out an energy transition strategy that is not only realistic but also ambitious.
This is underlined by the slew of initiatives that the Indian government has announced in recent months, including the National Hydrogen Mission, which proposes a series of measures to support the production and utilization of green hydrogen. This builds on the nation’s commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow to achieve net zero by 2070 and to increase non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) and reduce the carbon intensity of the economy by 45 per cent by 2030.
Pertinently, India has also committed to promoting energy security as a top priority, which is reflected in the Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LTLED) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which focuses on the rational utilization of resources with a focus on energy security. This pragmatic approach that highlights energy security as a key driver of climate action further defines the context of sustainable development that is relevant for 2023 and beyond. It also reflects the need for pursuing multiple pathways to promote decarbonization, embracing new energy systems of the future, while also delivering reliable power that is essential for growth.
As Daniel Yergin writes in The New Map, about the future of renewable landscape: “At this time at least, solar and wind cannot go it alone. They need partners. Natural gas generation is a flexible partner for solar and wind. Gas is lower-carbon and lower emissions (with methane control), and gas generation can be ramped up and down to provide balance against the fluctuations of wind and solar.”
Accelerating clean energy transition
One of the fundamental drivers of the sustainability agenda for 2023 will be a greater focus on clean energy transition. This is reflected in India’s LTLED Strategy that emphasizes the need for low carbon development transition without impacting energy security, access and employment. Today, fossil fuels, in particular coal, account for 57.9 per cent of the total installed power capacity, while hydro (11.5 per cent), and wind, solar and other renewable sources (29per cent) and nuclear (1.7per cent) account for the rest. The opportunity to expand renewable power generation capacity is tremendous, especially hydrogen.
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