DECARBONISING INDIA'S MANUFACTURING SECTOR

The share of India’s industrial emissions in overall emissions is projected to increase from 28 per cent in 2020 to 35 per cent in 2040. This highlights the need for policy actions that look beyond the incremental process, efficiency gains and aim for deep decarbonisation of industrial energy use. With this session, we get closer to knowing policies, technology innovations and finance solutions to help the sector achieve carbon reduction goals.

- Rahul Kamat

In a significant development for the fight against climate change, India declared its intention to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 at COP26. India is the third-largest emitter globally, emitting a net 2.9 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) each year as of 2019. This is despite the country’s low per-capita emissions (1.8 tonnes of CO2). Six industries—power, steel, automotive, aviation, cement, and agriculture—are primarily responsible for the majority of these emissions (about 70 per cent).

The demand for primary energy from the industrial sector more than doubled between 2005 and 2012, mostly due to the industry’s economic expansion. However, India’s manufacturing industry still primarily relies on conventional, carbon-intensive fuel sources to meet its energy needs. It is anticipated that by 2040, industrial emissions from India will account for 35 per cent of all emissions, up from 28 per cent in 2020. This emphasises the need for legislative initiatives that aim to decarbonise industrial energy use rather than merely incremental process efficiency increases.

The panel discussion on the topic ‘Decarbonisation of India’s Manufacturing Sector’ was held at the Festival of Manufacturing and focused on the policy to achieve clean energy targets. This highlights the need for policy actions that look beyond the incremental process, efficiency gains and aim for deep decarbonisation of industrial energy use.