At Global Meet, PM Modi Lays Down 1,000 Year Vision For Sustainable Energy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is preparing for a sustainable energy path for the next 1,000 years, focusing on solar, wind, nuclear and hydropower.

Addressing the inaugural day of the 4th Global Renewable Energy Investor's Meet (RE-INVEST) 2024, the PM said, "Our aim is not to reach the top but to remain on top. Today, not only Indians but the entire world feels that India is the best bet of the 21st century. Global Fintech Fest was organised earlier this month, after which people from all over the world participated in the first solar international festival. Then people from every corner of the world came to the Global Semiconductor Summit and today we are gathered here to discuss the future of Green Energy."

"We don't have vast reserves of oil and gas, we are not energy producers. Therefore, we have focused on solar power, wind power, nuclear, and hydropower to secure our future. We are determined to build a sustainable energy path forward," he said.

RE-INVEST 2024 is being organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 

The PM emphasised the government's initiatives towards green energy in the first 100 days of the third term. "In the past 100 days, we've made significant decisions to support green energy. We have launched the Offshore Green Energy Policy under the Vibrant Gas Funding Scheme, where we plan to spend over Rs 7,000 crore. India is also working on generating 31,000 megawatts of hydropower, for which we will spend more than Rs 12,000 crore," he said.

The PM also highlighted the efforts towards achieving the target of installing 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in India by 2030. "Among the G20 nations, we are leading. The country that could not be seen as a developed nation before will now set an example for the world as a developing one," he said.

INDIA'S RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS

At the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in 2021, PM Modi had outlined a climate action plan for the country. This included meeting 50 per cent of the country's energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030, reaching 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2070.

Since then, India has achieved substantial progress in installing renewable energy capacity, securing the fourth position globally in 2022, according to the Climate Action Tracker.

As part of its climate efforts, India conceived the International Solar Alliance (ISA) jointly with France. It was conceptualised on the sidelines of the COP21 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015. It is a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation which has 99 member countries and 119 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement. 

The ISA, headquartered in India, aims at increased use of solar energy technologies for better energy access, ensuring energy security and enabling energy transition in member countries. It seeks to mobilise $1,000 billion of investment by 2030 for deployment of solar energy.

India's installed solar energy capacity has increased by 30 times in the last 9 years and stands at 89.4 GW as of August 2024, as per government data. Similarly, the installed capacity of wind power stood at 47.19 GW, small hydro power capacity was 5.07 GW and large hydro power capacity stood at 46.92 GW, official data showed.

Notably, India is the only G20 nation to have achieved - before the deadline - climate goals committed at the Paris climate change conference in 2015.

In 2022, India updated its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or climate goals, according to which the target to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP had been enhanced to 45 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.