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India’s energy transition to hinge on coal for next two decades, net-zero not possible without nuclear power: IIM Ahmedabad report – Times of India
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NEW DELHI: At a time when India is exploring potential pathways for a development-led transition to a carbon-neutral future, a report of IIM Ahmedabad said coal is projected to continue until the next two decades as the backbone of the country’s energy system, and noted that net-zero emission goal is not possible without “substantial” nuclear power and renewable energy generation by 2070.
The report, released last week as part of a study project which was sanctioned by the office of the principal scientific adviser (PSA) to the govt, also underlined the need of Rs 150-200 lakh crore (about $2-2.5 trillion, or $40-50 billion/year) to reach net-zero though energy transition till 2070 — India’s declared net-zero target year.
Though the report projected India’s emissions in the range of 0.56 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (btCO2) to 1.0 btCO2 in 2070, it said the the remaining gap in emissions will be offset through sequestration in forestry and tree cover as envisaged in the country’s climate action plan — called ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs).
The report — Synchronizing energy transitions towards possible Net-Zero for India: Affordable and clean energy for All — is the first of its kind of “independent domestic studies” in this critical area, factoring in the country’s need for carbon space for economic development while simultaneously moving towards its 2070 net-zero goal.
Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar in his message noted that though several institutions and analysts, mostly outside India, have looked at potential scenarios for approaching global net-zero, the most of them rather than looking at “vacating the carbon space at an accelerated pace as a part of correcting its disproportionate use by advanced (developed) countries” tend to underestimate India’s energy needs.
“Some groups in India also tend to tow such lines and promote a pathway to net-zero disregarding the need to build adequate resilience to face climate change impact which would invariably require India to develop its infrastructure that is on par with advanced countries, capable of mitigating climate change impact and consistent with the size of India’s population,” said Kakodkar while expressing the need to have independent domestic studies.
“Such studies should help guide our development plans and strategies in a more robust manner keeping Indian interests in focus,” he said.
The IIM report is partly funded (one-third) by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The report was released by Ajay Kumar Sood, PSA to the govt, on April 3.
On the occasion, A K Mohanty, secretary, department of atomic energy and chairman, AEC, gave an overview of India’s on-going nuclear programme and the plans for increasing the nuclear power installed capacity from around 7.5 GW now to 100GW by 2047. India already has a plan to reach around 22.5 GW of nuclear power installed capacity by 2030.
The report explored how India can achieve clean and affordable electricity under four net-zero pathways and highlighted that the electricity sector will need to decarbonize well before 2070 to achieve net-zero energy systems by that year. It is a comprehensive study, bringing together aspects from all sectors of power generation in one place, providing a holistic view of the Indian energy sector and throwing light on the potential pathways for a development-led transition to net-zero.
The report, released last week as part of a study project which was sanctioned by the office of the principal scientific adviser (PSA) to the govt, also underlined the need of Rs 150-200 lakh crore (about $2-2.5 trillion, or $40-50 billion/year) to reach net-zero though energy transition till 2070 — India’s declared net-zero target year.
Though the report projected India’s emissions in the range of 0.56 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (btCO2) to 1.0 btCO2 in 2070, it said the the remaining gap in emissions will be offset through sequestration in forestry and tree cover as envisaged in the country’s climate action plan — called ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs).
The report — Synchronizing energy transitions towards possible Net-Zero for India: Affordable and clean energy for All — is the first of its kind of “independent domestic studies” in this critical area, factoring in the country’s need for carbon space for economic development while simultaneously moving towards its 2070 net-zero goal.
Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar in his message noted that though several institutions and analysts, mostly outside India, have looked at potential scenarios for approaching global net-zero, the most of them rather than looking at “vacating the carbon space at an accelerated pace as a part of correcting its disproportionate use by advanced (developed) countries” tend to underestimate India’s energy needs.
“Some groups in India also tend to tow such lines and promote a pathway to net-zero disregarding the need to build adequate resilience to face climate change impact which would invariably require India to develop its infrastructure that is on par with advanced countries, capable of mitigating climate change impact and consistent with the size of India’s population,” said Kakodkar while expressing the need to have independent domestic studies.
“Such studies should help guide our development plans and strategies in a more robust manner keeping Indian interests in focus,” he said.
The IIM report is partly funded (one-third) by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The report was released by Ajay Kumar Sood, PSA to the govt, on April 3.
On the occasion, A K Mohanty, secretary, department of atomic energy and chairman, AEC, gave an overview of India’s on-going nuclear programme and the plans for increasing the nuclear power installed capacity from around 7.5 GW now to 100GW by 2047. India already has a plan to reach around 22.5 GW of nuclear power installed capacity by 2030.
The report explored how India can achieve clean and affordable electricity under four net-zero pathways and highlighted that the electricity sector will need to decarbonize well before 2070 to achieve net-zero energy systems by that year. It is a comprehensive study, bringing together aspects from all sectors of power generation in one place, providing a holistic view of the Indian energy sector and throwing light on the potential pathways for a development-led transition to net-zero.
