Switching to renewable sources of energy is the global preference now and an environmental priority. As the second-largest coal user, India needs to perfect its infrastructure a whole lot better to replace the use of coal completely
A recent Niti Aayog report has put full and comprehensive focus on environment friendly and transformative mobility solutions that could well prove to be the basis for an all-new green car policy of India.
According to the report, India could save as much as $60 billion in energy costs by 2030 and one gigatonnes of carbon emissions between 2017 and 2030 by adopting more electric and shared vehicles. Piyush Goel, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines , also shared this view earlier in April.
The Niti Aayog report proposes three major transitions — a shift from private vehicle ownership to shared usership, from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles and from cities designed for cars to cities designed for humans.
The objective of the Government is praise-worthy as such a transformation will position India as the global leader in clean, shared, and connected passenger mobility, while establishing a model of low-carbon solutions for other developing nations to follow.
The report recommends path-breaking initiatives such as limiting the registration of petrol and diesel cars through public lotteries, providing fiscal and monetary incentives and subsidies to push sales of electric vehicles and using tax revenues from the sale of petrol and diesel cars to set up electric charging stations. The report also suggested lowering of interest rates and electricity tariffs for electric taxis, establishing a consortium for manufacturing standardised batteries and common components to bring down their cost and setting up battery-swapping facilities.
Besides these steps, the report recommended setting up of a governing body to create, update and simplify the regulatory framework for electric vehicles. Through this report, Niti Aayog is proposing to gradually phase out fossil fuel powered vehicles in India, which in itself is a heartening move.
However, a recently released report also by Niti Aayog, has
stated that coal will remain India’s main energy source for the next three decades although its share will gradually fall as the country pushes for renewable power generation. This contradictory standpoint is surprising since Niti Aayog on the other hand is pushing for mass electric mobility that is free of fossil fuel power.
India already has the unflattering distinction of being the world’s third-largest coal producer and the third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter. It depends on coal for about three-fifths of its energy needs and aims to double its output to 1.5 billion tonnes by 2020.
Niti Aayog has the mandate to plan India’s future and if anything, it must work towards reducing the role of fossil fuel in India’s energy mix. Currently the report expects that by 2047, coal’s share of India’s energy mix would shrink to 42-48 per cent from about 58 per cent in 2015.This state of affairs can surely be improved.
India dependence on fossil fuels, especially coal is a matter of concern for leaders of other countries as well as for environmentalists. The fact that India is also the world’s second largest coal importer does not help matters much. The main concern that the Government must tackle is that despite its commitment to renewable energy, the country is not only increasing the use of coal but also projecting that the usage trend will continue for another three decades.
This is coming at a time when many Western nations are rejecting the dirty fossil fuel. India’s
increasing coal usage is also expected to hamper the global fight against climate change besides adversely impacting India’s green credentials. Currently, India aims to cut thermal coal imports to zero by the end of this fiscal year and use its abundant domestic stockpiles to address its electricity needs. However, it will have to start importing again after its coal production peaks in 2037.
According to estimates, imports could rise to as much as 62 per cent by 2047 from over 25 per cent; now if the country doesn’t make its coal mining more efficient. India also aims to generate 175 gigawatts of electricity through renewables by 2022 and boost natural gas to 15 per cent of its energy needs, from 6.5 per cent currently, as it plans to use cleaner fuels for power plants and transport, but these plans like others must not stay on paper while coal usage is peaking on the other hand.
Coal dominates our energy generation scenario currently and inspite of years of planning, alternative and renewable sources of energy are yet to be perfected to the level that they can replace coal. This is the colossal challenge faced by India, and a response to this challenge can only be met by scalable, sustainable green energy. This alone can dislodge coal use.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)