India’s just energy transition is more than a coal story - The Hindu

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Last Updated07/02/2023

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

The first ETWG meeting will focus on six priority areas. i. Energy transition through addressing technology gaps ii. Low-cost financing for energy transition iii. Energy security and diversified supply chains iv. Energy efficiency, industrial low carbon transitions and responsible consumption v. Fuels for Future (3F) vi. Universal access to clean energy and just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition pathway.
Nodel Minstry: The Union Ministry of Power is the nodal Ministry for ETWG.

An emerging financing cooperation mechanism, which aims to help a selection of heavily coal-dependent emerging economies make a just energy transition.
The goal is to support these countries’ self-defined pathways as they move away from coal production and consumption.
The first such JETP emerged from UNFCCC COP 26 in Glasgow.
The donor pool has since been expanded to include multilateral development banks, national development banks, and development finance agencies.

After South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam, India is considered the next candidate for a JET-Partnership.
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).

Energy transitions could give rise to intra-generational, intergenerational, and spatial equity concerns.
Transitions have an impact on jobs that are currently dependent on fossil fuels, disrupt potential future energy access, reduce the state’s ability to fund welfare programmes, and worsen already existing economic disparities between coal and other regions.
Existing JET-P agreements give little consideration to intra-generational inequity, such as job losses brought on by a phase-down of coal.
However, among the three JET-P deals signed so far, only South Africa’s deal mentions a ‘just’ component — funding reskilling and alternative employment opportunities in the coal mining regions — to be financed as part of the initial $8.5 billion mobilisation.
The other two JET-Ps (Indonesia and Vietnam) are focused on mitigation finance for sector-specific transitions.

Acceleration in RE deployment rates to match the pace of demand growth is critical to India’s JET.
Domestic manufacturing of clean energy components is critical to sustain a JET, build energy self-sufficiency.
the current use of coal resources must be optimised to enhance efficiencies until the period of phase-down.

Coal-fired power plants must be placed closer to coal mines rather than based on energy demand in States for efficient transportation which leads to fewer emissions and cheaper power, as transportation accounts for one-third of the cost of coal for power plants.
The resultant savings could also help finance much needed emission control retrofits.
These measures will create new job opportunities, achieve emissions reduction and prepare the country for deeper decarbonisation through a future coal phase-down.