Indian Climate Minister takes part in launch of IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2020 report in India

The IEA held the India launch of Energy Technology Perspectives 2020 during a webinar on 19 November 2020. The event was introduced by Dr Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA and a keynote address was provided by Mr Prakash Javadekar, Honourable Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (and Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises).

Minister Javadekar reinforced the Government of India’s commitment to fighting climate change while providing clean and affordable energy to all Indians. Welcoming the new IEA report, Minister Javadekar also reiterated that new technologies will be vital in the future to reduce carbon emissions but those technologies must be accessible, affordable, and appropriate to country contexts.

Dr Birol highlighted that India has moved to the centre of global energy markets due to the Government’s continued success and leadership in energy access, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Dr Birol also noted that clean energy transitions need to happen in all parts of the energy sector, which will require the development of low emissions technology solutions at commercial scale. He committed the IEA’s ongoing support for India in continuing its move towards a sustainable, secure and affordable energy system.

Dr Timur Gül, Head of the Energy Technology Policy division of the IEA, presented key messages from ETP-2020, noting that transforming the power sector alone would only get the world one-third of the way to net-zero emissions. To reach net-zero emissions, more attention is needed on demand sectors, which are in greater need of a boost in clean energy innovation boost, particularly long distance transport and heavy industry. Due to the significant projected increase in materials demand for infrastructure developments in India, the need to accelerate clean energy innovation to bring low-carbon technology solutions for heavy industries quickly to markets becomes even more critical.

The launch was followed by a high-level panel discussion led by Ms Mechthild Wörsdörfer, IEA Director for Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks, and Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. Dr Swarup provided opening remarks, highlighting the importance of linking supply and demand, and connecting technology development with market deployment in the endeavour of accelerating clean energy innovation.

Panellists included Mr Abhay Bakre, Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Government of India, Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Mr Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC Limited, Dr RK Malhotra, Director General of Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI), Mr Mahendra Singhi, President of the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), and Managing Director and CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, Mr Aniruddha Sharma, CEO of Carbon Clean Solutions, and Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary-General of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Ms Rita Roy Choudhary, Head Energy Division of FICCI.