Mumbai: Moving to a low-carbon energy economy, the country can free up a whopping USD 600 billion for investments for various developmental projects over the next two decades leading to overall development, says a report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). As the country is trying to meet ambitious renewable energy goals as well as development needs with finite financial resources, moving to a low-carbon economy can help it maximise its financial capacity to meet economic and development goals, which will result in a saving of USD 600 billion for more productive investments, says CPI.
The Climate Policy Initiative is a global policy effectiveness analysis and advisory organisation with a mission to assess, diagnose, and support nations' efforts to achieve low-carbon growth. An independent, not-for-profit organisation supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundations, CPI is headquartered in the US, and has offices and programmes in Brazil, China, Europe, India, and Indonesia. It uses the International Energy Agency's business-as-usual and two degree change assumptions to simulate current and low-carbon energy pathways.
The country has set a target of 20 GW solar energy by 2020 under the national solar mission, while the target from the wind energy is three time more at 65.5 GW. The report further said transitioning to a low-carbon electricity system could also bring financial savings if the country can reduce the cost of finance. These savings, when coupled with a reduction in the high financing costs can provide the country with additional financial capacity to meet its economic and development goals.
