COP26 Glasgow Summit: India to Achieve Coal Phase-down by 2030

India, during the United Nations COP26 session in Glasgow, is emphasizing the decrease of coal utility to satisfy the country’s electrical demands by adapting to renewable sources of power production. 

The country aims to reach 500 gigawatts (GW) of energy production by 2030, by decreasing the use of coal and escalating the use of renewable energy sources, said the analysis report of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Furthermore, the report headed as ‘Powering Down Coal – COPS26’s Impact on the Global Coal Power Fleet’, states the country will face the accelerated consumption of coal-generated energy in the initial episode of the coal phase down and thereafter, India will enter the decline stage in power generation fueled by coal.

However, researchers added that the coal power plants currently in operation in the country have enough time to run ordinarily, as carbon neutrality is expected to be achieved by 2070.

Adding more to the conversation, researchers said, ‘“The target of reaching renewable power generation capacity of 500 GW by 2020, up from 100 GW currently, will likely provide all India’s additional electricity demand without increasing power generation from coal”.

Nevertheless, India is moving towards reducing the consumption of coal, the idea of accelerating the process for the phase-out of carbon energy sources is opposed by the country, closely followed by the neighbour China. 

India has maintained its objective of carbon neutrality; nevertheless, the nation has made no commitments about its domestic coal power industry. Researchers do not see it as a difficulty for India, as they believe that the phase-down of coal will provide more opportunities to the country for using renewable energy sources than fossil fuel, which in turn aids towards reaching the goal by 2030.

This was further backed by Sunil Dahiya’s statement, who is an analyst at CREA, “Phase down or phase-out does not really matter much. Coal is on a terminal decline. Phase-down is also a step towards phase-out. We will see this change, not just on paper, but in the real world over the next year and more importantly, this decade.”

The study also discovered that the announcements and commitments made at the Glasgow climate summit will have a direct influence on 80 per cent of the world’s planned coal-fired power facilities.