India has already achieved emission reduction of 28 per cent over 2005 levels, against the target of 35 per cent by 2030 committed in its NDC (Nationally determined contributions), Power Minister RK Singh said on Tuesday.

He was giving a keynote address at the ‘INDIA-ISA Energy Transition Dialogue 2021’ organised by the International Solar Alliance.

This makes India among one of the few countries globally that has kept to its Paris Climate Change (COP21) commitments along with an exponential increase in renewable energy capacity, he said, adding that the country is determined to not only achieve, but to exceed its NDC commitments well within the committed time frame.

“India has been aggressively pushing for energy efficiency improvements for the past two decades through a combination of innovative market mechanisms and business models, institutional strengthening and capacity building, as well as demand creation measures,” Singh said.

He further added that the key is to allow the regulatory and policy support to keep the sector afloat till the supply-side strengthens, technology develops, and competitive market takes root resulting in a fall in prices, and the industry becomes self-sustainable.

He said that it is anticipated that by 2050, 80-85 per cent of India’s overall power capacity will come from renewables. India has already touched 200 GW of peak demand. The demand had crossed what it was during pre-Covid time, and it is expected that electricity demand will continue to rise. This gives us the space for adding more renewable capacity, but it will call for power system flexibility and introduction of various storage technologies.

He added that India plans to systematically scale up its targets to install 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 from its existing target of 175 GW by 2022. The minister urged countries from around the world to have discussions on core issues and embark upon ways to facilitate realistic energy transition and high renewable energy penetration.

“I hope this dialogue kicks-off an exchange of best practices between India and ISA Member countries, while also outlining the future roadmap as a collective step towards achieving climate goals. I hope this makes the road to transition easier for many countries where many communities still rely on fossil fuels and need national decarbonisation strategies to transition smoothly,” Singh said.

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