Incentives, $10 trillion investment: What India needs to achieve net-zero emission goals by 2070
PremiumPrime Minister Narendra Modi had announced India's zero emission target to be achieved by 2070 at COP-26 (26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021)
India may need investments of over USD 10 trillion to meet its net-zero emission target by 2070, according to a new report.
The paper, issued jointly by GE-EY, further said that the country needs to incentivise the switch to cleaner coal technology and domestic production in the energy sector.
“India may require an investment of over USD 10 trillion to achieve its net-zero target by 2070," it said.
It pointed out that the country would continue to rely on coal power, at least in the near future. “Thus, the country needs to focus on and incentivise cleaner coal technology to further reduce carbon emissions."
The report further recommended policy initiatives "essential for a future driven by sustainable industries."
To achieve the target, India must overcome import dependence in the energy sector through measures that incentivise domestic production like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, it suggested.
Leveraging carbon capture technologies for the usage of coal-based energy, which is the largest source of primary energy and is domestically sourced, besides encouraging the promotion of green hydrogen through demand-side incentives and policies to bring down costs is also essential to meet the goal.
"Most importantly, create carbon markets and incentives for the adoption of clean energy technologies. India also needs to undertake several policy measures to help deepen the green bond market to facilitate financing," it said.
This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced India's zero emission target to be achieved by 2070 at COP-26 (26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021).
Net-zero, or becoming carbon neutral, means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
India on environmental performance index
Despite the pledge, India scored the lowest among 180 countries in the 2022 Environment Performance Index (EPI), an analysis by researchers of Yale and Columbia University, released earlier this month.
The EPI ranks 180 countries on 40 performance indicators including climate change, environmental public health, biodiversity, among others.
India ranked at the bottom with a total score of 18.9, while Denmark was the top scorer as the world’s most sustainable country.
Another report titled ‘Trail to Net Zero for India’, commissioned by Salesforce in collaboration with YouGov and Access Partnership, had found that India could gain approximately $11 trillion by 2070, by leading decarbonisation efforts and transitioning to a green economy.
India is the world’s third-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) after China and the US in absolute (total) terms. However, India's per capita carbon emissions are much below the global average.
