New Delhi: India is proposing tweaks in its laws to make it mandatory for industrial units to use a minimum share of green energy in overall electricity consumption as the country seeks to move away from fossil fuels and fight climate change.
Proposed amendments will facilitate the development of a carbon market in India besides prescribing a minimum consumption of renewable energy for industrial units, the government said in a statement Saturday.
“The objective will be to enhance demand for renewable energy at the end-use sectors such as industry, buildings, transport,” and others, India’s ministry of power said in the statement, adding that this may also facilitate the use of “green hydrogen” as an alternate to the existing fossil fuels.
Carbon saving certificates will also be given to spur companies toward clean energy sources. The statement did not specify the minimum use percentage that the government is planning to mandate.
The proposed changes underscore Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s green push just a day before global leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss ways to curb emissions and climate change. His administration aims to generate more than 40 per cent of country’s installed power capacity from non-fossil fuel energy resources by 2030.
India is the world’s third-largest emitter on an annual basis today and among the top 10 historical emitters. Earlier this year, India considered setting a net-zero goal but hasn’t done so far.
In his Independence Day speech in August, Modi laid down a plan to reduce India’s energy imports in the next 25 years as part of its carbon efficiency goals.
The latest proposed changes “will help in reduction of fossil fuel based energy consumption and carbon emission to the atmosphere,” the power ministry said.
