India’s Quest for Low Carbon Transition

Energy Policy, 1997

Ninety-eight percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in India are accounted for by energy related activities. Of this, nearly 48% is contributed by biomass combustion and the balance by the combustion of fossil fuel. The current paper presents some of the indicators of energy use in India including per capita energy consumption levels, the structure of energy consumption as well as efficiency of its utilization. The paper concludes by looking at some of the short and medium term projections for energy demand and their implications for CO 2 emissions and discusses the measures that need to be put in place to ensure a more effective utilization of energy. Particular attention is given to the current reforms in India's energy sector and the role of appropriate energy pricing is highlighted.

2018

Globally there is a greater commitment among national governments towards the achievement of the global 2°C temperature stabilisation target and doubling the rate of energy intensity improvement. India’s energy demand and energy imports have risen sizably over the past two decades. In 2014, India imported 83 % of its oil, 29 % of coal and 68 % of natural gas demand. Improving energy efficiency (EE) is identified among the prominent options in India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) communicated to the Paris Agreement. EE, other than mitigating carbon emissions, also contributes to improving energy security and air quality. EE measures are hence pervasive as they anchor efficient and cleaner technologies in the supply-chain covering production, distribution and consumption. This paper analyses role of EE technologies, policies and measures in India under global carbon emissions mitigation scenarios that target temperature stabilisation ‘well-below 2°C’. The analysis is carr...

Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal

The Centre for Development and Environment Policy (CDEP), 1 an interdisciplinary platform under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, as part of the Building Roadmaps for Industrial Decarbonisation and Green Economy (BRIDGE) initiative, organized a Roundtable on 16-17 May, 2022, in Kolkata. The roundtable was attended by more than 30 researchers and policy practitioners from varied disciplines such as economics, finance, political science, environment studies, and climate change, who brainstormed and formulated ideas that would contribute towards CDEP's annual report on the theme 'Transitioning Away from

Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2020

In recent times, the Indian economy has enjoyed a positive economic trajectory. However, the economy remains vulnerable to domestic and geographical risk as it relates to environmental degradation. The Indian economy is reputed as one of the leading emitters of carbon dioxide ( C O 2 ) emissions globally.. In the literature, there is no consensus on the contradiction between decoupling economic growth from CO 2 emission in India and other regions of the globe. By drawing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda and its 2030 targets, this study examines the relationship between responsible energy consumption (SDGs 7, 12), climate issues (SDGs 13), and economic growth (SDGs 8) for the case of India. Thus, the present study seeks to investigate the implications of CO 2 emissions on Indian economic growth (GDP) with a focus on the energy intensity in the country’s economy. To explore the nexus between eco- nomic growth and environmental degradation in a carbon income function, openness to trade and energy use were added as additional variables to circumvent the problem of omitted variable bias. Autoregres- sive Distributed Lag (ARDL) with the modified Wald test of Toda Yamamoto (T-Y) were applied to annual time series data from 1975-2017. The study reveals a long-term equilibrium association among the de- scribed variables over the considered period. Furthermore, a statistically significant negative relationship is observed between C O 2 emissions and trade openness and economic growth. This study validates the energy-induced economic growth as reported by the ARDL regression. This is also corroborated by the causality analysis results, as a uni-directional relationship was observed running from energy utilization to income (GDP). Thus, the Indian government officials should not adopt conservative energy policies, as this will be detrimental for economic growth given that the economy is dependent on energy. However, based on the growing environmental consciousness around the world, there is a need to shift the energy mix in India to renewables to make uses of cleaner energy sources and create environmentally friendly ecosystems. ©

Environment and Development Economics, 1997

This article investigates the linkages between economic growth, energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in India by analysing the structure of production and consumption in the Indian economy. We begin with an examination of the consumption pattern of six different income classes, three each in urban and rural India, and then estimate the direct and indirect energy and CO2 emission coefficients for supporting production in various sectors. This provides us with a basis for estimating the energy and emission content of the consumption baskets of the different income classes in India. CO2 emissions are projected to increase from 0.18 tonnes of carbon (tC) per capita in 1990 to about 0.62 tC per capita in 2020 under the reference scenario which corresponds to a GDP growth rate of 5.5% per annum. We then analyse scenarios of technology improvement in which emissions are reduced to 0.47 tC per capita in 2020. Our projection methodology takes into account the changes in aggr...

Energy, 2009

This paper analyses carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions of the Indian economy by producing sectors and due to household final consumption. The analysis is based on an Input-Output (IO) table and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for the year 2003-04 that distinguishes 25 sectors and 10 household classes. Total emissions of the Indian economy in 2003-04 are estimated to be 1217 million tons (MT) of CO 2 , of which 57% is due to the use of coal and lignite. The per capita emissions turn out to be about 1.14 tons. The highest direct emissions are due to electricity sector followed by manufacturing, steel and road transportation. Final demands for construction and manufacturing sectors account for the highest emissions considering both direct and indirect emissions as the outputs from almost all the energyintensive sectors go into the production process of these two sectors. In terms of life style differences across income classes, the urban top 10% accounts for emissions of 3416 kg per year while rural bottom 10% class accounts for only 141 kg per year. The CO 2 emission embodied in the consumption basket of top 10% of the population in urban India is one-sixth of the per capita emission generated in the US.

Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, 2007

This article examines the consequences of alternative CO2 emission reduction strategies on economic development and, in particular, the implications for the poor by empirically implementing an economy-wide model for India over a 35-year time horizon. A multi-sectoral, inter-temporal model in the activity analysis framework is used for this purpose. The model with specific technological alternatives, endogenous income distribution and truly dynamic behaviour and that covers the whole economy is an integrated top-down–bottom-up model. The results show that CO2 emission reduction imposes costs in terms of lower GDP and higher poverty. Cumulative emission reduction targets are, however, preferable to annual reduction targets and that a dynamically optimum strategy can help reduce the burden of emission reductions. The scenarios involving compensation for the loss in welfare are not very encouraging as they require large capital inflows. Contrasted with these, scenarios involving tradabl...

2006

This paper examines the consequences of alternative CO 2 emission reduction strategies on economic development and, in particular, the implications for the poor by empirically implementing an economy-wide model for India over a 35-year time horizon. A multi-sectoral, inter-temporal model in the activity analysis framework is used for this purpose. The model with specific technological alternatives, endogenous income distribution, truly dynamic behaviour and covering the whole economy is an integrated top-down bottom-up model. The results show that CO 2 emission reduction imposes costs in terms of lower GDP and higher poverty. Cumulative emission reduction targets are, however, preferable to annual reduction targets and that a dynamically optimum strategy can help reduce the burden of emission reductions. The scenarios involving compensation for the loss in welfare are not very encouraging as they require large capital inflows. Contrasted with these, scenarios involving tradable emission quota give India an incentive to be carbon efficient. It becomes a net seller for the first 25 years and because of reduction in carbon intensity it would demand less in later years when it becomes a net buyer. The results suggest that for India, and other developing countries, the window of opportunity to sell carbon quotas is the next two decades or so. * This paper was completed a couple of years ago, but is being brought out as a working paper in August 2006. We are grateful to Jerzy A. Filar and Jyoti Parikh for their comments on an earlier draft.

2016

This study stems from the hypothesis that there are gaps at local, national and regional levels concerning policy making and project formulation, related to climate change, sustainable development and human security. This chapter focuses on the South Asia region, with particular emphasis on India and Bangladesh, as these are two countries faced with high vulnerability to climate change. It is clear that the increased level of projected growth in the region needs to tread down a path towards a low carbon economy, in order to face up to the challenges of climate change. Inadequate regional cooperation, energy insecurity and weak governance are identified as key impediments to achieving a low carbon economy in South Asia. However, some progress has been made through the formation of climate change specific policy, establishment of forums for regional cooperation, and private sector initiatives, promoting sustainable practices. The step from policy and ideas to action needs to be taken. Barriers such as, political instability, lack of economic integration and limited natural resources need to be acknowledged and surmounted before any real progress towards sustainable development in the region can be achieved. The promotion of a low carbon economy is touted as a key step in the right direction. Emerging from this literature review is a series of examples and mechanisms that may help in the formulation of coordinated and integrated policy and mechanisms that would be needed to see real progress towards low carbon economy and effective response to the challenges derived from climate change in South Asia.