India Can Be A Game-Changer For Climate Action

The G20 comprises of more than 20 countries accounting for 85 per cent of the global GDP, more than 60 per cent of the world's population, making it the world's most powerful forum for international cooperation on economic, financial, and political progress. India is leading the group's deliberations for 2023, and it has chosen "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or "One Earth, One Family, One Future", as the theme for its presidency.  

This is an extension of the nation’s efforts towards inclusive growth. Today India is using technology to bridge its rural and urban divide, be it through the highest penetration of digital payments in the world, or rapidly facilitating access to clean and affordable power to all. India's challenge now is to balance its need for economic growth with the imperative to reduce emissions and protect the environment. As a developing country, it is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. However, India has taken a leading position in the march towards green growth. With the presidency of G20, India has the opportunity to steer several countries towards more effective climate action, an urgent need for today’s world.   

India has already taken several significant steps towards going green, with an integrated approach to decarbonisation, recognising that it is not just about reducing emissions but also about promoting sustainable development. For example, stepping up towards its target of achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2070, it has set itself midterm goals such as – sourcing half its electricity requirements from renewables and halving its energy intensity by 2030. India has also launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which is aimed at building capabilities to produce at least 5 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) of green hydrogen.
 
To further reduce the carbon footprint of its transportation sector, which is a major contributor to emissions, India is electrifying its national railway network, which is the fourth largest in the world. This is complemented by encouraging higher adoption of electric vehicles with introduction of Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) policy. 

Proactively engaging with other countries on climate action, both at the regional and global levels, India has been a vocal advocate for developing countries' interests in international climate negotiations. The One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative, which aims to interconnect renewable energy resources across the globe is a fine example of regional cooperation on climate change that India is spearheading. . The theme of this year amplifies India’s messaging of building a people-centric world that addresses global challenges and steers economic development simultaneously. The G20 presidency has given India an opportunity to take the centre stage and lead with example. 

Countries in the global east, like China, Japan and Indonesia, have focused their G20 presidencies on promoting free trade, globalisation, strengthening growth, jobs creation, building global healthcare architecture and addressing inequalities.  

As the leader of the G20 for 2023, India, which has been laying emphasis on green growth encapsulated under ‘Panchamrit’ initiative to leverage its own experiences and successes to encourage other countries to take similar steps towards climate action. South Asian countries today are facing similar challenges like India – high consumption of coal, providing access to reliable electricity to the larger population particularly in the rural parts and addressing the impact of climate change.  

India is tackling these issues head-on, becoming the 4th nation in the world in renewable energy installed capacity. Larger share of renewables induces concerns of reliability and power quality challenges in the grid, given intermittency of utility scale renewable generation on supply side, and energy intensive applications in city centres such as EVs, metro, data centres. So the country has deployed technologies such as high-voltage direct current (HVDC), automation and digitalisation to ensure better and reliable power quality with greater control and protection. Leveraging data technology from the sources, there are solutions to provide actionable insights for the power systems to make the energy system dynamic and flexible to adjust to demand and supply situation in real time thereby improving performance and efficiencies. 

In the efforts to mitigate the effects of carbon emissions and climate change, technology can help smaller economies that are often constrained by resources in delivering simple solutions to complex problems. Benefitting from its experience, India can now encourage regional countries to work together to reduce emissions and serve as a global model for clean energy, and develop best practices, frameworks, policies and technologies that will help realise ambitious targets under the Paris Agreement by countries world over.  

India's G20 presidency can be a historic opportunity to promote climate action in South Asia and beyond. India has already taken several positive steps towards going green, and it can use its position to assist other countries to follow suit. By working together, we can build a more sustainable and resilient future for all, thereby achieving objectives true to ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. 
 

(N Venu is MD and CEO, India and South Asia, Hitachi Energy.)