• India
  • Jan 31

India’s roadmap to green energy transition

• Climate change is the long-term change in temperature and weather patterns that can occur due to natural reasons, but since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, it has been predominantly due to anthropogenic activities. 

• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain in the atmosphere for tens to hundreds of years, trapping the Sun’s heat from escaping. While within limits, these make our earth more habitable, allowing for salubrious weather conditions, the enhanced emissions have led to rising temperatures with the potential to bring about sea level rise, change monsoon cycles and impact land systems.

• Action to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to the changing climatic conditions are required urgently as the world has already started to experience its consequences. For instance, it is estimated that by 2030, about 700 million people worldwide will be at risk of displacement by drought alone.

• Climate change is primarily attributed to disproportionately high cumulative emissions, both historical and high per capita annual emissions of greenhouse gases of the developed countries. 

• Many nations pledge to reduce their net emission to zero by 2050.

India has enhanced its climate ambition manifold

• India is spearheading one of the world’s most ambitious clean energy transitions and remains steadfast in its commitment to combating climate change. Despite the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, India has enhanced its climate ambition manifold and embarked on a long-term strategy towards a Low GHG Emission Development Strategy by adopting a multi-pronged approach. 

• Action on addressing climate action was initiated even before the Paris Agreement came into being. In 2008, India launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), establishing eight National Missions, covering several initiatives and a slew of measures in the area of solar, water, energy efficiency, forests, sustainable habitat, sustainable agriculture, sustaining Himalayan ecosystem, capacity building and research and development (R&D).

• National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC), a central sector scheme, was initiated in 2015-16 to support adaptation activities in states and Union Territories of India that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. NAFCC is implemented in project mode, and to date, 30 projects have been sanctioned in 27 states and UTs with a total project cost of Rs 847.5 crore. 

• The energy transition plan is complemented by numerous policies intended to improve the ecosystem to deploy promising technological innovations, like green hydrogen. The country has consistently modified/amended regulatory standards and adopted policy-level interventions to support the development and adoption of new technology.

India’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)

• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement. They embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

• NDC means national plans and pledges made by a country to meet the goal of maintaining global temperature increases to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while aiming for 1.5°C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

• India submitted its first NDC to UNFCCC in October 2015. This was updated in August 2022. The 2015 NDC comprised eight goals, three of which were quantitative targets to be achieved up to 2030.

i) Cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil sources to reach 40 per cent.

ii) Reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 33 to 35 per cent compared to 2005 levels. 

iii) Creation of additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover.

• Demonstrating higher ambition in its climate action, India submitted its updated NDC on August 26, 2022. The new NDC with enhanced targets translates the vision of “Panchamrit” at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow in November 2021. The vision mentions sustainable lifestyles and climate justice to protect the poor and vulnerable from the adverse impacts of climate change.

These five commitments are:

i) India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.

ii) India will meet 50 percent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.

iii) India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now on till 2030.

iv) By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 per cent.

v) By the year 2070, India will achieve the target of net zero. 

Status of Forest and Tree Cover

• One of the three quantifiable targets of India’s NDC is to achieve an additional carbon sink of 2.5 billion to 3 billion tonnes through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. The forest and tree cover in India has shown a gradual and steady trend of increase in the last 10-15 years.

• The country ranks third globally with respect to the net gain in average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020. This gain is mainly attributed to the robust framework and policies of national and state governments that have promoted and safeguarded forests. 

• Schemes like the Green India Mission (GIM), Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), National Afforestation Programme (NAP), Green Highway Policy-2015, Policy for enhancement of Urban Greens, National Agroforestry Policy, and Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF), etc are among the most important ones.

Carbon Stock in India’s Forest and Tree Cover

• A robust forest ecosystem is a vital sink of carbon. Forest Survey of India (FSI) assessed the carbon stock (which is the amount of carbon sequestrated from the atmosphere and stored in biomass, deadwood, soil, and litter in the forest) in India’s forests for the first time in 2004 and then biennially since 2011. 

• The Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) estimates the carbon stock of forests to be about 7,204 million tonnes in 2019, which is an increase of 79.4 million tonnes of carbon stock as compared to the estimates of the previous assessment for 2017. 

• This translates into carbon emissions sequestrated through forest and tree cover to be 30.1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

• Among the Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh has the maximum carbon stock in forests (1023.84 million tonnes), followed by Madhya Pradesh (609.25 million tonnes).

Transition to Renewable Energy Sources

• While the target was to achieve 40 per cent of the installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 in the initial NDC submitted in 2015, the target has already been achieved. 

• India is now striving to achieve the target of 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, in line with updated NDCs.

• India is progressively becoming a favoured destination for investment in renewables. As per the Renewables 2022 Global Status Report, during the period 2014 -2021, total investment in renewables stood at $78.1 billion in India. Investment in renewable energy has been close to or higher than $10 billion per year since 2016, except for a dip in 2020 likely due to various COVID-19 restrictions.

• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has projected the optimal generation capacity mix to meet the peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement for 2029-30. The estimate builds in improved efficiency and minimises the total system cost subject to various technical/financial constraints. The likely installed capacity by the end of 2029-30 is expected to be more than 800 GW of which non-fossil fuel would be more than 500 GW.

Green Hydrogen

• A NITI Aayog report has estimated that the cumulative value of the green hydrogen market in India will be $8 billion by 2030 and $340 billion by 2050.

• With a vision to make India an energy-independent nation, and to decarbonise critical sectors, the government approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission on January 4, 2023 with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. The Mission will facilitate demand creation, production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen and mobilisation of over Rs 8 lakh crore of investment by 2030.

• The adoption of green hydrogen will result in 3.6 gigatonnes of cumulative CO2 emission reduction by 2050. This will also generate enormous energy import savings, ensure stability in industry input prices, and strengthen foreign exchange reserves in the long run.

Critical Minerals - key to green transition

• The shift to a clean energy system is set to drive a huge increase in the requirements for critical minerals. This is because an energy system powered by clean energy technologies differs profoundly from one fuelled by traditional hydrocarbon resources. 

• Cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs) are critical for producing electric vehicles and batteries and harnessing solar power and wind energy. 

• Solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, wind farms and electric vehicles (EVs) generally require more minerals than their fossil fuel-based counterparts. A typical electric car requires six times the mineral inputs of a conventional car, and an onshore wind plant requires nine times more mineral resources than a gas-fired plant.

• The types of mineral resources used vary by technology. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite are crucial to battery performance, longevity and energy density.

• REEs are essential for permanent magnets that are vital for wind turbines and EV motors. Electricity networks need a huge amount of copper and aluminium, with copper being a cornerstone for all electricity-related technologies.

• While the demand for critical minerals is set to increase because of the global preference and emphasis towards renewable energy, the global supply chain of the critical minerals is highly concentrated and unevenly distributed. The skewed distribution of the resource poses a supply risk in the face of its enhanced demand. 

• A carefully crafted multi-dimensional mineral policy would reduce our dependence and address the problems for the future. The country has resources of nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, and heavy REEs, but further exploration would be needed to evaluate the quantities of their reserves. 

• There is a need to create strategic mineral reserves along the lines of strategic petroleum reserves to ensure a continuous supply of minerals. Also, policies should consider investing in internal research including technological innovation for mineral exploration and processing and the development of recycling, reusing, and repurposing (R3) technologies.

Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS)

• India submitted its Long-Term Low Carbon Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) on November 14, 2022, at COP 27. 

The salient features of LT-LEDS are:

i) Focus on the rational utilisation of national resources with due regard to energy security. The transitions from fossil fuels will be undertaken in a just, smooth, sustainable and all inclusive manner.

ii) Encompasses the objectives of the National Hydrogen Policy. The rapid expansion of green hydrogen production, increasing electrolyser manufacturing capacity in the country, and a three-fold increase in nuclear capacity by 2032 are some of the other milestones that are envisaged alongside the overall development of the power sector.

iii) Increased use of biofuels, especially ethanol blending in petrol. The drive to increase electric vehicle penetration, and the increased use of green hydrogen fuel are expected to drive the low carbon development of the transport sector. India aspires to maximise the use of electric vehicles, ethanol blending to reach 20 per cent by the Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26, and a strong modal shift to public transport for passengers and freight.

iv) Climate-resilient urban development will be driven by smart city initiatives, integrated planning of cities for mainstreaming adaptation and enhancing energy and resource efficiency, effective green building codes and developments in innovative solid and liquid waste management.

• LT-LEDS has been prepared in the framework of India’s right to an equitable and fair share of the global carbon budget and is the practical implementation of India’s call for “climate justice.” 

• This is essential to ensure that there are no constraints on realising India’s vision of rapid growth and economic transformation while protecting the environment.

• The LT-LEDS is driven by the vision of LiFE, Lifestyle for the Environment,  that calls for a worldwide paradigm shift from mindless and destructive consumption to mindful and deliberate utilisation.

Battery Waste Management

• The government published the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, on August 24, 2022 to ensure environmentally sound management of waste batteries. Notifying these rules is a transformative step towards promoting the circular economy. New rules will replace Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001. The rules cover all types of batteries — electric vehicle batteries, portable batteries, automotive batteries, and industrial batteries. 

Green Bonds 

• Green bonds are financial instruments that generate proceeds for investment in environmentally sustainable and climate-suitable projects. With the growing focus on the environmental sustainability of projects, green bonds have become widely accepted as an instrument to raise funds to support climate and environmental projects and command a relatively lower cost of capital when compared to regular bonds.

• Major countries that resorted to green bonds to raise funds include the UK, France, Germany, the USA, and China. IMF data indicates that green bonds of value around $620 billion were issued across the world in the year 2021, in which countries issued green bonds of value $587.7 billion and international organisations issued bonds of value $32.3 billion. 

• As per SEBI’s data on green debt securities, during the period of 2017 to September 2022, as many as 15 Indian corporates have issued green bonds of value Rs 4,539 crore. Most of these are related to renewable energy generation, while one is slated to be used for the tertiary treatment of wastewater.

• In keeping with the ambition to reduce the carbon intensity of the economy significantly, the Union Budget 2022-23 announced the issue of Sovereign Green Bonds. The issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds will help the government to tap the requisite finance from potential investors for deployment in public sector projects aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of the economy. The final Sovereign Green Bonds framework of India has been issued.

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