RoydadNaft –   The stand here put it at odds with the emerging consensus for moving away from fossil fuels and in the company of China as well as oil-producers Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran.

Sources said while India remains committed to substantially increase its non-fossil power capacity by 2030, in line with the climate action pledge under the Paris Agreement, it could not be party to any commitment that could hurt its priority to lift millions out of poverty by boosting development.

Thy also said that the principled stand should not be confused with rigidity as India can be part of the deal later, after negotiating its terms, as the agreement has a clear reference to the circumstances in individual countries and their ability to negotiate.

“It has been done outside the COP negotiation process. It just reflects the intent of global efforts and there has been no question mark on India’s intent. After all, India is already on board as part of the signatory of the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration,” said an observer.

At the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Delhi, where a unanimous communique had been issued, the world’s richest nations, including some of those which did not join on Saturday, had agreed to “pursue and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally through existing targets and policies, as well as demonstrate similar ambition with respect to other zero and low-emission technologies, including abatement and removal technologies, in line with national circumstances by 2030”. They also noted the ‘Voluntary Action Plan for Promoting Renewable Energy to Accelerate Universal Energy Access’.

According to data on the power ministry website, at the end of May, coal-fired plants accounted for over 49% of the installed generation capacity of almost 4.2 lakh gigawatt.

The share of fossil fuel, which also includes gas, lignite and diesel, was pegged at close to 57%. This is despite the government significantly ramping up renewable energy capacity to over 1.2 GW, or around 30% of the installed capacity.

Last year, under its updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) – climate action plan – India had committed to “achieve about 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, with the help of transfer of technology and low-cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund (GCF)”. Accordingly, India aims to add 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030.

According to the pledge, made under the leadership of CO President Sultan Al Jaber on Saturday, the countries besides working to treble the renewable energy capacity also committed to “work together in order to collectively double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from around 2% to more than 4% every year until 2030”.

The pledge looks to drive transformational change through effective policymaking, planning, and major investment decisions, underlining that rapidly expanding renewables is one of the single greatest tools to reduce emissions and the energy efficiency is considered the “first fuel of the transition” and can significantly contribute to reducing energy consumption.

The US also led a controversial call by over 20 countries, including the UK, Japan, Ghana and several of European nations, to treble nuclear energy capacity by 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality.