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Context:
The Draft national energy policy still in the draft form and waiting for government’s approval
Loopholes in the policy:
- It does not define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.
- It does not provide a timeline for delivery and there is no discussion on financing.
Solution:
- Niti Aayog, should extend its mandate unilaterally and map each of its policy recommendations against existing institutions of governance, and where there are mismatches or misalignment, offer suggestions for plugging the institutional lacunae.
- It should demand “differentiated responsibility” from the international community in managing and mitigating the existential risk arising from this development.
- It must push its economy on to a low carbon growth trajectory.
- Access to clean technologies like carbon capture and sequestration, cellulosic biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells.
- A separate system need to be created to enable the development and distribution of cleaner fuels.
- The report suggests that the list of policy to dos’ should be monitored by a committee of secretaries chaired by the CEO of Niti Aayog.
- The process supervised by a steering committee chaired by the PM and comprising members of the cabinet.
India’s energy policy:
The government has emphasized the importance of pegging India’s energy policy on the following three essential varieties.
1.India’s per capita energy consumption may be a fraction of the per capital energy consumption of the developed world.
2.Its energy policy must, in consequence, focus on increasing the share of renewable in the energy basket and on greening fossil fuels.
3.It must leverage technology and innovation to render renewable affordable and accessible.
Challenges in implementation of policy:
- There is a clean energy thread running through these components.
- Managing energy consumption, energy efficiency, production and distribution of coal, electricity generation, transmission and distribution, supply of oil/gas, refining and distribution of oil and installation, generation and distribution of renewable.
- Currently, there is no institutional platform for mediating the complex of vested interests and stakeholders engaged with different aspects of the energy sector.
- There is a misalignment between the horizontally structured, vertically layered division of responsibilities between the central, state, and municipal governments.
Conclusion:
India must fast-track the implementation of a green energy agenda. There should have institutional design that will clarify line of accountability and authority and balance the needs of development, politics and sustainability.
