Climate change is one of the most important global environmental challenges, with implications for food production, water supply, health, energy, etc. As per the IPCC reports, human activities have already warmed the planet to about 1°C since the pre-industrial era. In India, climate change has emerged as the primary challenge for economic development. Addressing climate change requires a good scientific understanding as well as coordinated action at the national and global levels.
Energy is the main driver of climate change as it contributes to most greenhouse gases. The reliance of the world on fossil fuels and their increasing consumption has led to the present scenario. Recognizing the need to combat the effects of climate change, the Government of India has developed an extensive policy framework with specific targets and objectives to reduce their emissions by increasing their deployment of Renewable Energy technologies. This originated with policies regarding electricity in the 2000s promoting the proportion of renewables in the energy mix which catalyzed the formation of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in the year 2008 having eight national missions.
The National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) under NAPCC consists of programmes having climate change mitigation attributes. Commitments extending to 2020 and 2030 like the Copenhagen Accord and the recent COP21 followed with the goal of reducing emissions by promoting the use of Renewable Energy. In this regard, the Government of India has taken various measures for bringing energy efficiency in various sectors of the economy such as Standards & Labelling for appliances, ECBC for buildings, sustainable transportation, Demand Side Management and energy efficiency in SMEs, etc. India has also exerted various financial instruments that act as incentives for developing Renewable Energy through subsidy cuts on fossil fuels, taxing carbon, and subsidizing various Renewable Energy projects.
Thus, the pursuit and promotion of Renewable Energy will provide India with more energy security and independence to meet energy demands and growth in the future while simultaneously reducing their GHG emissions and combating climate change.
Source: 1) https://beeindia.gov.in/ 2) https://www.omicsonline.org/