India's fossil fuel production |
| Credit: The Logical Indian |
Why in news?
• According to United Nations Environment Programme's latest Production Gap Report, 15 countries are not prepared to meet the requirements of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
• The 15 countries analysed as part of the report were responsible for 75 per cent of the world's fossil fuel production in 2020.
Highlights of Report
• Governments expect to produce 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be required to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and 45% more than would be required to keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
• Estimates based on data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) indicate that non renewable fossil fuels account for 70% of the current (2020) generation capacity of 452,3038 MW, followed by hydro/marine power at 11%, solar and wind power at 6% each, nuclear power at 5% and bio-energy at 2%
India's plans vs goals
• As part of the Paris Agreement, India pledged a 33%-35% reduction in the "emissions intensity" of its economy by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The plan outlines measures to expand coal production by nearly 60% from 2019 to 2024 (from 730 to 1,149 tonnes), including through the removal of barriers to land acquisition and building capacity for exploration
• The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, the government promised to become a self-sufficient coal producer and announced a plan to invest Rs 500 billion in coal extraction infrastructure.
Challenges ahead for India
• There is no national policy in India for reducing fossil fuel production or guaranteeing a just transition to renewable energy.
• Though India may have gas reserves of over 100 MMcf, only about 40% of this is in accessible terrain and would be depleted within a couple of decades. Given the high risks and costs of gas exploration and extraction, expected returns are low.
Need of the hour for India
• Reduce the amount of time spent on domestic exploration.
• Making expenditures and provide tax breaks worth Rs 11.8 billion for the production of fossil fuels.
• Increasing the efficiency of the producing fields.
• Boosting the strategic reserves.
• Increasing total oil and gas production by over 40% in the same period through measures such as accelerate exploration licensing, faster mon etization of discoveries, and gas marketing reforms.
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