Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 39

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec
India has to balance climate
change campaigning with
growing appetite for coal
India is maintaining its keen appetite for coal despite the government’s assertive green international policy, writes Richard Lockhart
INDIA
WHAT:
India admits that reducing coal consumption will be a gradual process
WHY:
India aims to have 450GW of green capacity
WHAT NEXT:
India needs to flesh
out the details of its 450GW target, while also clarifying its cola policy
COAL will continue to be the key pillar of India’s power sector, despite the government’s latest tar- get of having 450GW of renewable capacity in the future.
India played an assertive role during the recent UN Climate Action Summit in New York, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking up his International Solar Alliance and raising the country’s green target to 450GW.
However, in the following week during the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting in New Delhi, the government also admitted that coal would still play a crucial role in providing universal access to power and in driving economic growth.
Long-term plan
Indian Environment Secretary C K Mishra told the IPCC Working Group III meeting in New Delhi that coal would continue to play a domi- nant role, but that the Indian government’s long- term plan was to replace coal with renewables.
“Reduction of coal is not a one-day process. We have a plan in place: a long-term plan where we will replace coal with renewable energy slowly to achieve the goal announced by the
prime minister to reach 450GW. But plants which are already coal-based will continue to consume coal,” Mishra said.
The coal warning comes after Modi told the New York summit last week that he was increas- ing the country’s long-term green target to 450GW, while confirming a 175GW target for 2022.
“India is here today not just to talk about this serious issue but to present a roadmap. In India, we are going to increase renewable energy capac- ity,” Modi said in New York
Energy diplomacy
Modi is taking an aggressive stance on climate change internationally, arguing that develop- ing economies are not responsible for climate change, given their historically late industrial development.
Modi stressed this point in New York, saying: “Per capita-wise, India’s contribution to global warming is very low, but we are a leading nation in mitigation plans.”
Modi mooted the establishment of a Coali- tion for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. This would include governments, UN agencies,
Per capita-
wise, India’s
contribution to
global warming
is very low,
butwearea
leading nation in
mitigation plans
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 39
01•October•2019