Before we delve deep into the energy future of India and how India shifted its focus, it’s pertinent to understand the term “energy transition” first. As per Wikipedia, Energy Transition is a significant structural change in energy system driven by the demand for and availability of different fuels and results from the depletion of energy sources. In other words, it means a systematic shift from a specific or existing energy supply to another pattern of energy system. The International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, defines it as “a pathway toward transformation of the global energy sector from fossil-based to zero-carbon by the second half of this century.”
Societies have gradually transitioned away from one energy source like from wood to coal to electricity, gas and fossil fuels. A couple of decades back when international science authorities linked global warming to carbon emissions from fossil fuels, countries across the globe have been gradually changing focus to zero carbon energy from clean energy sources like wind, solar and hydro otherwise known as renewable energy.
Why energy transition important?
Earth’s surface consists of 75% water and 25% land. A huge proportion of water is spread across continents in solid form of ice. With the gradual rise of earth’s surface temperature over the years (or global warming), the ice is melting continuously and land masses are being washed off. Natural calamities like rising sea levels, cyclones, floods, droughts, forest fires, etc are also caused due to global warming.
If we don’t check ourselves now, then there won’t be anything left to sustain for our future generations, hence the need. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that global warming from pre-industrial levels must not exceed 1.5°C in order to avoid irreparable damage to the planet. As per the data of IPCC, around 25% of C02 emissions come from electricity and heat production. Another 24% come from agriculture, forestry and other land use. While the industrial sector accounts for 21% and transportation 14%, it’s surprising to note that about 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions are from fossil fuels.
196 countries joined together in 2015 by signing the Paris Agreement, the world’s first comprehensive climate change agreement. The objective is to maintain the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2° Centigrade above pre-industrial levels and to carry out measures to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
Indian scenario
With a population of over 130 crore and being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, as per the IEA 2020 report, India is the third largest global carbon emitter. Even though not fully in sync with the Paris Agreement, India has managed to put forth policies to tackle the situation. “While policies that promote the use of natural gas and renewables in power generation are important to reducing global carbon emissions, it will take a collective change in behaviour to reverse the effects of climate change,” said PM Narendra Modi during the CERA Week in March 5.
He has stressed India’s goal to boost the share of gas in its fuel mix to 15% from the current 6% by 2030 and to reach Paris Agreement climate targets much before it. He is quite optimistic about role of gas in India’s energy future.
Presently in India while LNG is used as fuel, there has been a sharp increase of non-fossil fuels and renewables in energy consumption, clearly stating India’s stand on Energy Transition. Steering the energy transition drive of India and the visions of PM Modi, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan while speaking at the joint conferences of the 11th World PetroCoal Congress & World Future Fuel Summit on February 16, said that India’s energy demand is going to increase in the future, and it has taken a number of concrete steps that are shaping India’s energy transition pathways for a low carbon economy. To create a global model of energy justice, India is on a path to balance between affordability and accessibility, he said. Another big move India has done so far is the use of bio-fuel to cut down on the import of crude oil. Ethanol blending has come a big way since Minster Pradhan talked about it 2 years back in CERA Week meet. Ethanol is made from molasses, grains and farm waste and it is environment friendly. During this Corona epidemic, it has worked well as sanitizers and recently a historic movement made when PM Modi launched the ethanol blending pilot project in three petrol pumps in Pune out of the E100 plan across India. Now with 20% ethanol blending with petrol, India will save $5 billion (Rs.30,000 crore) in imports. India’s solar capacity increased by 13 times in last six years, 37 crore LED bulbs under UJALA scheme and more than 1 crore smart LED street lights reduced around 43 million tons of carbon emission annually.
According to Pradhan, the plan is to achieve 40% electricity generation from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. The “One Sun One World One Grid” is another ambitious initiative that will connect 140 countries through a common grid, which will be used to transfer solar power. Though international experts are sceptical about India’s energy transition owing to the Covid induced economic crisis, however, the solid action plan, ongoing policies and result driven approach of the Government and execution at the ground level, will certainly prove India’s mettle in global energy transition.
While India ranks 87th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Energy Transition Index (ETI-2021), it is miles to go, but justifying Minister Pradhan’s words that “India will chart its own course in energy transition”, India has certainly come up to reach the global expectations in near future, not to forget the financial benefits India is going to avail including a boost in employment. As PM Modi says, “Now is the time to think logically and ecologically, after all, this is not about me or you, it is about our planet’s future.”
(Padhy is an IT & Management Consultant, E5: Energy Education Empowerment Enterprising E-media, Bhubaneswar, Cell: +91-7008470905)
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