GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors
GS-3: Issues relating to growth & development, Environmental Conservation.
Low-carbon future through sector-led change
Context: In the build-up to the ‘Leaders’ Climate Summit’ organised by the United States this week (April 22-23), there has been a flurry of articles about whether India should announce a ‘net-zero’ emissions target, and by when
What is the dilemma faced by India?
Taking only modest steps until richer countries do more is not viable in the context of a global climate crisis.
Yet, announcing an Indian 2050 net-zero commitment risks taking on a much heavier burden of decarbonisation than many wealthier countries, and could seriously compromise India’s development needs
What should be the strategy to overcome the above dilemma?
We should focus on concrete, near-term sectoral transformations through aggressive adoption of technologies that are within our reach, and an earnest effort to avoid high carbon lock-ins.
This is best accomplished by focusing on sectoral low-carbon development pathways that combine competitiveness, job-creation, distributional justice and low pollution in key areas where India is already changing rapidly
This approach is directionally consistent with India moving towards net-zero, which should be our long-term objective.
Over time, India can and should get more specific about future economy-wide net-zero targets and date
We will take the example of Electricity Sector to understand the above path. A similar approach should be adopted for other sectors.
Electricity Sector
Decarbonise Power Sector
To achieve net-zero emissions, a key piece of the puzzle is to decarbonise the electricity sector, which is the single largest source (about 40%) of India’s greenhouse gas emissions.
So far, our efforts in the electricity sector have focused on expanding renewable electricity capacity, however one need to go beyond expanding renewables to limiting the expansion of coal-based electricity capacity.
Ceiling for Coal Sector
A first, bold, step would be to pledge that India will not grow its coal-fired power capacity beyond what is already announced, and reach peak coal electricity capacity by 2030, while striving to make coal-based generation cleaner and more efficient
Such a pledge would give full scope for development of renewable energy and storage, and send a strong signal to investors.
India will need to work hard to become a leader in technologies of the future such as electricity storage, smart grids, and technologies that enable the electrification of other sectors such as transportation.
Multi-stakeholder Just Transition Commission
The next necessary step is to create a multi-stakeholder Just Transition Commission representing all levels of government and the affected communities to ensure decent livelihood opportunities beyond coal in India’s coal belt.
This is necessary because the transition costs of a brighter low-carbon future should not fall on the backs of India’s poor.
Improve energy services
Air conditioners, fans and refrigerators together consume about 60% of the electricity in households.
Today, the average fan sold in the market consumes more than twice what an efficient fan does, and an average refrigerator about 35% more.
India could set aggressive targets of, say, 80% of air conditioner sales, and 50% of fan and refrigerator sales in 2030, being in the most efficient bracket.
In addition to reducing green house gas emissions, this would have the benefit of lowering consumer electricity bills.
Conclusion
Such a sector-by-sector approach empowers India to insist that developed countries complement their distant net-zero targets by enacting concrete near-term measures that are less reliant on unsure offsets.
