COP28: Ahead of Modi's speech, India firms up stand against 'phasing out' fossil fuels

PM Modi

Ahead of the address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP28 in Dubai on December 1, the country's minister for power and senior bureaucrats made it clear that coal is going to be the mainstay of India's energy needs for the years to come.

Speaking at an Indo-Japan Conclave on November 30, Union minister for power and new and renewable energy RK Singh said the dialogue at COP28 should be about cutting down emissions, and that it should be led by the developed countries first.

COP28

"Developed countries who have been talking about energy transition have not invested in energy storage manufacturing capacity, which is only about 24 GW in the world currently. We need storage for round-the-clock renewable energy. We cannot phase out fossil fuels unless we have nuclear or until storage becomes viable. We cannot have energy transition until storage is viable," Singh said.

Also read: COP28 starts: Global stocktake, climate finance, limiting fossil fuels key agenda items.

The Union minister further said that there cannot be any pressure on India to cut down on emissions as he claimed that India’s rate of energy transition is the fastest in the world.

On the same day (November 30), Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told reporters ahead of PM Modi's trip to Dubai that coal will remain India's main source of energy for years to come. "Coal is, and would, remain an important part of India's energy needs," he said.

With these statements, India is only strengthening its stand of not phasing out fossil fuels to ensure energy security, while also keeping electricity affordable. The US and the European Union are insisting on a “phase out fossil fuel” deal at COP28, but it is being fiercely opposed by the UAE, Russia and developing nations such as India.

In September, G20 countries under the presidency of India committed to expedite efforts to "phase down" unabated coal power, in line with national circumstances. At COP26 too, countries agreed to phase down the use of coal. But neither at G20 nor at COP26 did the countries agree to quit all fossil fuels - the main source of planet-warming emissions.

Faced with continuous surge in power demand, the Indian government recently revised its thermal capacity addition plan from 51 GW to nearly 80 GW by 2031-32. By March, 2024 alone, the government plans to add 12 GW or 12,000 MW of fresh coal-based electricity generation capacity. The Indian government has asked states to augment their thermal coal generation capacity, while also urging private players to come forward and set up power plants to meet the burgeoning demand. Central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) such as NTPC Ltd will also add coal-fired capacity to the tune of about 10,000 GW. Besides, CPSUs such as Coal India Ltd and NLCIL, under the Ministry of Coal, are also now setting up thermal power generation units.

Also read: Diversification: CIL and its subsidiaries to use de-coaled land to build new thermal power plants.

India has projected its peak power demand would spike to 335 GW by 2030 from 241 GW in 2023. In 2024, it is anticipating a peak power demand of 256.53 GW (256,530 MW). The unusual surge in demand this year, which was way off the government's projection of 230 GW, also resulted in an alarming spike in the country's power shortage, recorded at 10.745 GW (10,745 MW) on the same day (September 1).

On the opening day of COP28, 196 parties adopted the decision to operationalise the Loss and Damage fund, approving the draft text adopted by the transitional committee in Abu Dhabi earlier this month — a move widely seen as a win for developing countries. The initial corpus of the fund will be over $400 million.

PM Modi will deliver his address at the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit on December 1. Besides his address to the COP28, the prime minister will also be participating in three high-level side events - of which two are being co-hosted by India. He will return to India on December 1 evening.