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India's net zero emission target: Road long, challenging; $10 trillion investment required

India -- the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US -- 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.

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Updated Jun 16, 2022, 18:12 IST

India’s net zero emission target: Road long, challenging; $10 trillion investment required

India’s road to reach the net zero carbon emission target is not only long and challenging but also pretty expensive. The country will need an investment of over USD 10 trillion to achieve its net-zero emission target by 2070 as pledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a report.

Modi had announced India's zero emission target to be achieved by 2070 at COP-26 (26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021), which experts said will need a lot of strategic planning in the decades to come.

"India may require an investment of over USD 10 trillion to achieve its net-zero target by 2070," a joint white paper issued by GE-EY said on Thursday.

India, unlike the US and European Union nations, has a huge population, and based on that its emissions per capita are much lower than other major world economies. India emitted 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per head of population in 2019, compared with 15.5 tonnes for the US and 12.5 tonnes for Russia that year.

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.

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