Most of this money will be needed to scale up production from renewable energy: Think Tank
To meet its goals of net zero, or to be able to effectively eliminate carbon dioxide emissions by 2070, India would need about 10 percent, according to an analysis by climate and energy research firm CEEW Center for Energy Finance. Trillion dollars (₹700 lakh crore) would be required. (CEEW-CEF). CEEW is the Council for Energy, Environment and Water Research, a think tank based in New Delhi.
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Most of this money, about $8.4 trillion, will be needed to significantly increase generation from renewable energy and bring together the necessary integration, distribution and transmission infrastructure. Further decarbonization of this sector will require an investment of $1.5 trillion in the industrial sector to set up green hydrogen production capacity. Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas made from renewable energy and can be used for many things, from heating to powering batteries as well as refueling vehicles.
Study estimates India to fall below $3.5 trillion Achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 And therefore, $1.4 trillion of investment support in the form of concessional finance from developed economies would be needed to raise foreign capital to bridge the gap. Concessional finance refers to loans at below market interest rates.
India’s goals
At the recently concluded summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s national goals to significantly improve the proportion of renewable energy in its installed capacity and be net zero by 2070. Scientists say reaching zero zero by 2050 is Earth’s best chance at keeping the world’s average temperature above 1.5C by the end of the century.
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CEEW CEO Arunabha Ghosh said: “At COP26, India announced bold near-term and long-term climate targets. Our analysis shows that net zero emissions will require huge investment support from developed countries. Developed countries India will have to set tough targets for climate finance in the coming years. Also, on the domestic front, financial regulators like RBI and SEBI need to create an enabling ecosystem to finance India’s transition to a green economy. Given the size of the investment required, private capital from both domestic and international institutions should form the bulk of the investment, while public money should play a catalytic role by risking investment in existing and emerging clean technologies.
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The CEEW-CEF study highlighted that India’s $1.4 trillion concessional finance requirement will not be spread evenly over the five decades until 2070. The average annual subsidized finance requirement will vary from $8 billion in the first decade to $42 billion in the fifth decade.
solar energy
Last month, another study by CEEW calculated that to achieve net zero by 2070, India’s total installed solar power capacity would need to increase to 5,630 GW by 2070. The use of coal, especially for electricity generation, will need to peak by 2040. and a 99% drop between 2040 and 2060.
In addition, crude oil consumption across all sectors would need to peak by 2050 and fall by 90% between 2050 and 2070. Green hydrogen can contribute to 19% of the total energy needs of the industrial sector.
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