AIR Spotlight: G20 Energy Transition Working Group Meeting

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: G20 Energy Transition Working Group Meeting.

Participants:

1. Anil Razdhan, Former Energy Secretary
2. S. Rangabashyam, AIR Correspondent

Context: The first G20 Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) Meeting under India’s Presidency is taking place in Bengaluru. 

Introduction:

• The first G20 Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) Meeting under India’s Presidency is taking place in Bengaluru. from Feb 5-7, 2023. 
• About 150 participants including G20 member countries, nine special invitee guest countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, UAE and Spain are participating in the meeting.
• Leading international organisations such as The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), International Solar Alliance (ISA) etc are also attending the Meeting. 
• The first ETWG meeting will focus on six priority areas. These include: 

1. Energy transition through addressing technology gaps 
2. Low-cost financing for energy transition 
3. Energy security and diversified supply chains 
4. Energy efficiency, industrial low carbon transitions and responsible consumption
5. Fuels for Future (3F) and 
6. Universal access to clean energy and just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition pathways. 

• The Union Ministry of Power is the nodal Ministry for ETWG and will lead the discussions and negotiations on focused priority areas.

India’s journey towards clean energy:

• India is working towards clean energy with ambitious targets like 500GW of non-fossil, including 450 GW renewable energy (RE) capacity addition and 43% Renewable Energy (RE) purchase obligation by 2030. 
• These targets are supported by various policies such as (Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act), missions (National Green Hydrogen Mission), fiscal incentives (production-linked incentives) and market mechanisms (upcoming national carbon market).
• Besides policy, legal and regulatory instruments, the success of these commitments is predicated on technology and financial inclusiveness from the developed economies. PM Modi’s panchamrit pledge at COP-26 conference in Glasgow serves as guardrails to nation building and a pole star for successive governments.
• Given India’s focus on net-zero carbon emissions and innovative partnerships with international organisations and countries, the steps taken towards energy transition should lead to a greener future for the country.

Low-cost financing for energy transition:

• Emerging and developing economies are set to account for the bulk of emissions growth in the coming decades unless much stronger action is taken to transform their energy systems. 
• In a scenario reflecting today’s announced and existing policies, emissions from emerging and developing economies are projected to grow by 5 gigatonnes (Gt) over the next two decades. 
  • In contrast, they are projected to fall by 2 Gt in advanced economies and to plateau in China.
• An unprecedented increase in clean energy spending is required to put countries on a pathway towards net-zero emissions. 
• Clean energy investment in emerging and developing economies declined by 8% to less than USD 150 billion in 2020, with only a slight rebound in 2021. 
• Annual capital spending on clean energy in these economies needs to expand by more than seven times, to above USD 1 trillion, in order to put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. 
• International public finance institutions must be given a strong strategic mandate to finance clean energy transitions to improve the delivery of international climate finance.
• Such a surge can bring major economic and societal benefits, but it will require far-reaching efforts to improve the domestic environment for clean energy investment within these countries in combination with international efforts, especially by developed countries to accelerate inflows of capital. 

Comprehensive Energy Transition:

• Decarbonize, digitise and decantrised path to a low energy economy, amongst others, necessarily involves comprehensive steps. This includes,
  • Replacing fossil fuels with renewables with accelerated deployment of RE parks and battery storage facilities.
  • Reducing CO2 emissions by developing a market for carbon trade.
  • Removing carbon emissions through carbon sequestration.
  • Enhanced use of hydrogen, natural gas and hydro plays an integral role in the energy mix.
  • Enhancing energy efficiency measures such as robust implementation roadmap, improving the health of the distribution companies, developing the market for ancillary services and e-mobility. 

• Given India’s scale and stage of development, efficient and thoughtful use of resources is essential. 
  • India’s manufacturing prowess and technology leadership present an opportunity to leverage Make in India to turn India into a more self-sufficient economy and globally competitive export hub over time. Circular economy solutions should become a core feature of India’s future economy.
• As climate change accelerates, the likelihood of pandemics and extreme weather shocks will likely increase, making the need to build a resilient future critical. Resilience could involve selecting industries, technologies, or systems that help adapt to unexpected shocks or crises. 
  • India can gradually reduce its exposure to commodity imports and foreign supply chains through distributed energy systems and the promotion of domestic manufacturing.
• Clean energy investments and activities can bring substantial economic opportunities and jobs in industries that are expected to flourish in the coming decades as energy transitions accelerate worldwide. 
  • Therefore, clean energy transitions shall be people‐centred and inclusive, including actions that build equitable and sustainable models for universal access to modern energy.

Read more on India’s Net Zero Plan Document

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