India must show global leadership on climate crisis by adopting a holistic approach to energy

Relevance: Renewable energy and its issues are direct topics on Energy.

Synopsis: 

Meeting the Energy demands of people and government policy on them have to address some critical issues to achieve energy security.

Global countries on Climate Change:

Political leaders of Western nations express alarm and make promises about the climate crisis, but do precious little to tackle it.

• G7 countries are also announcing “net zero carbon” targets that hide the continued reliance on destructive technologies to pursue ever-increasing energy generation.
• The rapid increase in renewable energy (RE) capacity and partnerships like the International Solar Alliance have won global appreciation.
• US President launched India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate.

India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership:

According to the partnership statement: “The United States has set an economy-wide target of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030. India has set a target of installing 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.”

The Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership will aim to

• Mobilise finance and speed clean energy deployment;
• Demonstrate and scale innovative clean technologies needed to decarbonise sectors including industry, transportation, power, and buildings;
• Build capacity to measure, manage, and adapt to the risks of climate-related impacts.

Challenges with Energy projects in India

1. While substantially increasing Renewable Energy(RE), India is also expanding fossil fuel extraction and use. In the middle of the pandemic, the government has auctioned 60 new coal mining blocks, and several new thermal power stations are being considered. This includes mining in some of the most biodiverse forests in Central India.
   • In effect, total carbon emissions, which is what impacts climate, will keep going up even as RE’s share rises.
   • While public transportation has been given more investment in the 2021 budget, there is no discouragement of private cars, and fossil fuel use continues to rise.
2. India includes mega-hydropower in RE, despite the ecological and social havoc it causes. For instance, Despite the recent flood tragedy in Uttarakhand, the government is pushing for mega-hydro projects.
3. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced mega-park type RE production in 10,000 sq km in seven states. These projects have serious ecological and social impacts but do not even need an environmental impact assessment. This is because of the faulty assumption that RE is necessarily “clean” and eco-friendly.
   • About 60,000 hectares of Kachchh’s ecologically fragile grassland-desert ecosystem have been allotted to energy mega-parks.
   • The government’s target of 100 GW by 2022 also included 40 GW of rooftop solar, but poor policy back-up has stymied it.
   • Such an approach also undermines democracy. People who protest the forcible acquisition of their lands for mega-projects are labelled anti-development.
4. Electricity demand was met in all possible ways (including dangerous nuclear power). But this is simply unsustainable.
   • For instance, a shift from petrol-diesel to electric cars will significantly expand devastating mining (for electricity production) across the world. This also ignores biodiversity loss and pollution.
   • Unless luxury and wasteful consumption is eliminated, unsustainability and people’s displacement are inevitable.

How India can adapt to energy demands?

• Integrated power micro-grids can provide adequate power for entire villages and urban neighbourhoods, and be locally managed. Viable alternatives have been demonstrated across the world.
  • The Delhi government supports 150 government schools to generate rooftop solar energy, helping them save Rs 8.8 crore on electricity and earning Rs 8.5 crore from selling power back to the grid.
  • A study in the US shows that rooftop solar can create 30 times more jobs than mega-solar parks.
• Similarly, alternatives to energy-guzzling sectors like urban construction and privatised transportation also exist.
• National Energy Policy should include few essential tasks. Such as,
  • Changing Consumer behaviour to curb wasteful and luxury power usage.
  • Redistributing power to those who do not have enough power.

People have the right to demand energy. But more and more demand will create unsustainable and inequitable ways to produce and distribute energy. So, the demand has to be just. Without which the planet will not sustain us.