Atomic Energy, Hydrogen Power India’s Net Zero Plan (UPSC Current Affairs)

Relevance: GS3 - Environmental Pollution and Degradation

(Source: The Hindu, 11/15/2022)

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Why in the news?

• Recently, India announced its long-term strategy to transition to a "low emissions" pathway at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• It premised on increasing its nuclear power capacity by at least threefold over the next decade, as well as becoming an international hub for producing green hydrogen and increasing the proportion of ethanol in petrol
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a commitment last year in Glasgow, where the 26th COP was held, to India's "five-decade journey" to net zero, or carbon neutrality, by 2070.

News Summary

• During the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27), India submitted its Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy was launched by Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, who is leading the Indian delegation to COP 27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 to November 18, 2022.
• The National Hydrogen Mission, which was launched in 2021, aims to make India a green hydrogen hub. Other milestones planned alongside overall power sector development include rapid expansion of green hydrogen production, increased electrolyser manufacturing capacity in the country, and a threefold increase in nuclear capacity by 2032.

What was the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM)?

• The Finance Minister announced the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) in the Union Budget for 2021-2022.
• NHM was supposed to create a road map for using hydrogen as an energy source.
• The National Hydrogen Energy Mission aims to push for the implementation of hydrogen energy, which will drive the country in the right direction of making the most of the renewable energy sector.
• The Hydrogen Policy is all set to capitalize on the most abundant elements on the planet for a better, safer, and cleaner alternative fuel option.

Green Hydrogen in India

• Because of its favorable geographic location, India has a significant advantage in harnessing the power of hydrogen and producing hydrogen.
• The demand for hydrogen in India is approximately 6 metric tonnes per year, primarily from industrial sectors.
• Hydrogen demand is expected to more than fivefold by 2050. As a result of cost reductions, technological advancements, and carbon-reduction initiatives, the demand for hydrogen will be around 28 MT by 2050.
• Green hydrogen production in India may become cost-effective in the future, ensuring self-sufficiency and energy security.
• The government has expanded the gas pipeline infrastructure and implemented power grid and smart grid reforms. These steps would unquestionably incorporate renewable energy.

What is a Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy?

• The 2015 Paris Agreement requires all parties to develop long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies based on their respective responsibilities and capabilities in light of the various national-level circumstances.
• The COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021, required parties who had not yet communicated their LT-LEDS to do so by COP27.
• India's LT-LEDS was developed following extensive consultations with various government entities, state governments, research institutes, and civil society organizations.

Features of the strategy

• The LT-LEDS (Long Term-Low Emission Development Strategy) was developed in the context of India's right to an equitable and fair share of the global carbon budget.
• It was made certain that the strategy emphasizes energy security, energy access, and employment, while remaining focused on our vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• The journey to net-zero is a five-decade one, and India's vision is thus evolutionary and flexible, accommodating new technological developments as well as developments in the global economy and international cooperation.
• The emphasis will be on the prudent use of national resources while maintaining energy security. Transitions away from fossil fuels will be just, smooth, sustainable, and all-inclusive.
• The increased use of biofuels, particularly ethanol blending in gasoline, the push to increase electric vehicle penetration, and the increased use of green hydrogen fuel are all expected to drive low-carbon development in the transportation sector.

India

• India "aspires" to increase the use of electric vehicles, with ethanol blending increasing to 20% by 2025 (it is currently 10%) and a "strong shift" to public transportation for passenger and freight traffic.
• India will also focus on improving energy efficiency through the Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme, the National Hydrogen Mission, increasing electrification, improving material efficiency, and recycling, as well as ways to reduce emissions.
• India's forest and tree cover are a net carbon sink, absorbing 15% of CO2 emissions in 2016, and the country is on track to meet its NDC commitment of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sequestration in forest and tree cover by 2030.
• The NDCs, which India must periodically update, are voluntary commitments by countries to reduce emissions by a fixed number relative to a previous date in order to achieve the long-term goal of climate agreements of preventing global temperatures from rising above 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
• Thus, India's most recent NDC commits to ensuring that half of its electricity is derived from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, as well as reducing emissions intensity by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Significance of the strategy

• The LT-LEDS are qualitative in nature and are a requirement arising from the 2015 Paris Agreement in which countries must explain how they will transition their economies beyond achieving near-term NDC targets and work towards the larger climate goal of cutting emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.
• According to scientists, this is the best way to keep temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius. So far, no country has taken such a step.
• However, the document also stated that this transition would incur costs in the "trillions of dollars," which developed countries, who are responsible for the existing carbon accumulation, should bear. “
• The transition to a low-carbon development path will incur several costs related to the development of new technologies, new infrastructure, and other transaction costs. While estimates vary from study to study, they all fall in the trillions of dollars range by 2050.
• Climate finance provided by developed countries will play a critical role and must be significantly increased in the form of grants and concessional loans, ensuring scale, scope, and speed, primarily from public sources, in accordance with UNFCCC principles.

Way Forward

• India's long-term strategy (LTS) can guide the development of Indian industry, urban planning, and infrastructure construction.
• Connecting India's net-zero target with near-term climate actions is critical to avoid investments that may be incompatible with a low-emissions and climate-resilient future.
• At present, only half of the 50+ long-term strategies submitted by countries have full or partial legal backing." In the future, India may wish to establish a legal or institutional framework to pursue policies based on its long-term goal.
• India's long-term strategy (LTS) builds on the net zero pledge. It clearly outlines key interventions across sectors that will be the focus of India's efforts. Importantly, the document is the result of extensive stakeholder discussions.
• However, given that the government has already announced the creation of a domestic emissions trading scheme in India, it could have included carbon pricing as a key component of India's strategy.

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FAQs

MCQ

Question: The term ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of (2016)

(a) pledges made by the European countries to rehabilitate refugees from the war-affected Middle East

(b) plan of action outlined by the countries of the world to combat climate change

(c) capital contributed by the member countries in the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

(d) plan of action outlined by the countries of the world regarding Sustainable Development Goals

Question: The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air is slowly raising the temperature of the atmosphere because it absorbs: (UPSC 2012)

(a) the water vapor of the air and retains its heat

(b) the ultraviolet part of the solar radiation

(c) all the solar radiations

(d) the infrared part of the solar radiation