What’s the news?

• A consortium of scientists part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggested that “Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector and this will mean drastically reducing fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and the use of alternative fuels”.

Key Highlights

• With particular relevance to India, the panel finds that all coal-fired power plants, without the technology to capture and store carbon (CCS), need to be shuttered by 2050 if the world aspires to limit global temperature rise to 1.5c.
• According to the Central Electricity Authority, India has about 211 GW of operational coal-fired power plants accounting roughly 10% of global capacity. As per Global Energy Monitor data, another 31 GW was being constructed and about 24 GW in various pre-construction phases.
• The main concern is that none of the existing under construction coal-fired power plants in India have CCS facilities.
• The scientists also emphasized that limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third.
• Failure to arrest the planet’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is likely to cause irretrievable damage to our ecosystems, which in turn could disproportionately devastate the economies and vulnerable communities in the Global South.

Way Forward

• The latest IPCC report is a stark reminder to all developed countries to significantly bring forward their transition to a net-zero economy. This would leave additional carbon space for countries like India to meet their development priorities on the path to achieving their net-zero target.
• To accelerate the low-carbon transition, developed countries should ensure higher flows of finance and technology transfer in critical areas such as renewables, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and others.
• Thus, having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behavior can result in a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 which offers significant untapped potential.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/no-place-for-new-coal-plants-says-ipcc-report/article65290258.ece