India will witness mass deployment of clean energy projects, energy-efficient technologies, and low-carbon choices in its path towards NZE transition (Net Zero Emission).
We stand at a crucial moment for our planet. Our planet is seeing the highest recorded concentration of CO2 in 2 million years. An immediate change and bold step of ambition is the only solution to slash the emissions. There is a clarion call for the inhabitants of this planet to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 1.5°C by the Paris Climate Agreement 2015. In support of the Paris Agreement, governments, cities and regions, businesses and civil society members around the world are taking cooperative climate action outside the formal intergovernmental negotiations.
India at the epicenter of NZE transition
IEA’s India Energy Outlook 2021 states, “All roads to successful global clean energy transitions lead through India”. India ranks third in energy consumption globally, thanks to rising incomes and improved living standards. Since 2000, energy consumption has doubled, with coal, oil, and solid biomass still meeting 80% of demand. Electricity generation, heat and transport are major emitters; overall energy is responsible for around 73% of emissions.
Major challenge is that projections of economic growth, energy use and emissions per energy unit have put India on a path of continuously increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. India is one of the world’s biggest CO₂ emitters, behind only China and the United States.
The scope for further growth in energy demand and infrastructure is huge
In 2010, it was estimated that electricity consumption would have to triple by 2030 to bring 300 million people out of poverty in India. The number of Indian households purchasing upgraded air conditioning units, appliances, and vehicles will increase in the coming years. Two-third of India is yet to be built like factories and buildings. India will need a power system the size of the European Union over the next twenty years to meet its electricity demand. It is pertinent now for India to mitigate climate change as fast as possible to counter the large negative impacts on GDP due to the consequences of global warming. Eventually electricity use will have to be increased. But how we use electricity is important.
Energy efficiency- cornerstone to India’s NZE
Considering country’s carbon neutrality commitment, CII – Godrej GBC jointly published a Research Report in 2022 “Decarbonization of Indian Industrial Sector” that studied select hard to abate sectors. The study suggested few best possible techniques like Energy efficiency, Renewables and Clean technologies, Circular economy, Biomass, Hydrogen, and other Zero Carbon Fuels along with CCU’s (Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage) to reduce the industry’s emissions through low carbon levers. Energy efficiency (EE) will play a major role in the overall decarbonization journey of India and Industrial sector as in BAU (Business as Usual) and Deep Decarbonization scenarios contributing around 45.9 % and 31% respectively.
President – India Region,
Danfoss.
EE is the fastest, easiest, and most impactful way to accelerate the green transition acknowledged by the world today. This will also ease the pressure on the renewables, as each watt generated can be stretched further.
NZE transition is a huge engineering opportunity for India
India will witness mass deployment of clean energy projects, energy-efficient technologies, and low-carbon choices in its path towards NZE transition (Net Zero Emission). This avails an exciting opportunity to develop low-carbon, efficient infrastructure such as net-zero buildings, public transit electrification, smart manufacturing establishments, and carbon capture and storage systems. As the French writer Leon Bloy said, “The worst evil is not to commit crimes, but to fail to do the good one might have done.”
