No silver bullet to India’s net zero puzzle: Think tank
Live MintIndia at COP27 is now a part of the elite set of countries having expressed its ambitions to curb greenhouse gas emissions at last year’s summit in Glasgow. The five-point climate action plan dubbed as “panchamrit” meaning five values is believed to boost India’s switch to renewable energy, electrification and hydrogen fuels. A latest report from the Bengaluru-based think tank the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy titled No Silver Bullet: Essays on India’s Net-Zero Transition aims to kindle conversations touching these complex areas thereby offering a futuristic perspective on India’s net-zero pathway. However, merely presenting range scenarios cannot be a proxy for deep uncertainty analysis,” the report stated as it delves into five key areas — demand estimation conundrum, industrial decarbonisation, the power sector, behavioural shifts for a sustainable environment and carbon pricing. With around 30% of India’s population in poverty and the per capita consumption levels staging below the global average, the report states that “it would be unfair to consider any radical reductions in consumption.” It however suggested dietary shifts towards millets instead of rice, smart mobility choices and use of energy saving devices as few ways of living for a sustainable environment.