Dr. Seema Javed, New Delhi: Climate Change Conference (Conference of the Parties -COP29) is going to be held in Azerbaijan from 11th November next month. This will focus on the large-scale financing needed for India to achieve its ambitious renewable energy targets and its potential to become a clean energy exporter. India stands at an important point in its clean energy transition journey from fossil fuels to clean energy. India’s current installed capacity of renewable energy is 150 GW.
Significant progress is being made in making the power generation sector carbon free in two Indian states, Karnataka and Gujarat. Progress is needed in states like Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi’s power sector appears poised to decarbonize, while Odisha has strong market enablers, yet both states have not been able to fully match their potential with progress in decarbonizing the actual power sector.
What is India’s goal?
Whereas, low-cost solar energy capacities are present in Rajasthan (6,464 GW), Madhya Pradesh (2,978 GW), Maharashtra (2,409 GW) and Ladakh (625 GW). Whereas Karnataka (293 GW), Gujarat (212 GW) and Maharashtra (184 GW) provide adequate wind energy capacity. In such a situation, it is not very difficult for it to achieve additional renewable energy up to 1,500 GW. India aims to meet 50 percent of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2030. The government is making many efforts to achieve this and promote renewable energy.
This includes National Biogas Programme, Suryamitra Programme, Solar Loan Programme, PM-KUSUM Scheme, Solar Park Scheme, Hydrogen Mission, International Solar Alliance. These are extremely important for preventing climate change. Not only this, he has talked about achieving net zero by the year 2070. But for this work India needs investment in renewable energy. India needs a significant amount of investment to meet its renewable energy targets.
To meet its solar and wind energy targets by 2030, India needs a rough estimate of $293 billion. To meet its 500 GW renewable energy capacity target from 2030 to 2050, India needs a rough estimate of $190-215 billion. Also, to meet net zero ambitions beyond 2050 to 2070, India needs $7.2 trillion-12.1 trillion.
Demand for electricity is increasing in India
Given that power generation accounts for almost half of India’s annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (1.18 gigatonnes in 2023), accelerating the transition to clean energy sources is essential to meet both the country’s development and climate goals. India’s economic growth is driving growth in electricity demand. Last year, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.7%, India’s electricity demand grew by a similar 7%. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand is likely to grow at a flat pace of 6.5% from 2024 to 2026.
The Central Government has already taken several policy measures to promote electricity transition. India is pioneering a new model of economic development that can avoid the carbon-intensive approach adopted by many countries in the past. It can also provide a blueprint for other developing economies. In such a situation, it remains to be seen what funding it receives in COP29 as investment for this change.
The author, Dr. Seema Javed, is an expert on environmental matters.