The United Nations said that India needed to accelerate its transition to renewable energy by progressively phasing out coal use for electricity generation. The UN secretary-general António Guterres said the global body wanted India to take the lead in the clean energy push, especially as the coronavirus pandemic threatens sustainable development.
The health crisis slowed down construction activities in India’s renewable projects. At the same time, the South Asian country also pushed a reform that will boost its domestic coal production by allowing the private sector into commercial coal mining. Guterres said that he had asked India and other G20 countries to ramp up investment in clean energy and end fossil fuel subsidies.
India has outlined plans to expand the share of renewable energy, especially solar, in its electricity generation. However, the strategy indicated that coal would remain one of India’s primary sources of power generation in the coming years. India’s total renewable energy capacity currently stands at 88GW, and the country is working on expanding it to 175GW by 2022 and 435GW by 2030.
Meanwhile, coal is expected to account for 30% of India’s electricity generation by 2030, according to a report by the Central Electricity Authority. India previously said that it is committed toward emission reduction targets but would not sacrifice access to affordable and uninterrupted electricity for its population.
