To fight the climate crisis, decarbonise the power sector

T

he news is worse than expected. The United Nation’s Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), of which India is one of the 195 members, released its sixth assessment report (AR6) on Monday. The report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis, shows that global warming is on track to hit 1.5 degrees Celsius around 2030, a decade earlier than projected in 2018, and the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have reached the highest in the past 800,000 years.

At 1.5°C global warming, heavy precipitation and associated flooding are projected to intensify and become more frequent in most regions in Africa and Asia. The report added that scientists have “high confidence” in the projection and that the changes in climate are a result of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

To halt these catastrophic future projections, the world must embark on strong and sustained reduction in emissions in the next few years. The global energy sector (power, heat and transport) accounts for around 73% of total emissions. But it is also the engine behind every country’s economic and development plans, more so in emerging and developing economies whose per capital energy consumption is much lower than the global average.

To reduce emissions, solar energy is the ideal solution for all countries, especially in the developing world where much energy capacity is yet to be installed. Solar is the cheapest source of electricity today, which makes it the smartest choice for new power capacities. Improved storage can eliminate intermittency. Solar can be also scaled up or down to meet demands; it can power zeroemission mobility; and most importantly, it is on its way to become a self-contained emission-free ecosystem. In 2019, the total investment in solar was $131 billion; its global capacity has grown by more than 26 times since 2009, and the sector is expected to support 22 million jobs by 2050.

Decentralised solar photovoltaic (PV) systems work well in the remotest areas, and solar agricultural pumpsets offer a clean and affordable alternative to diesel fuel. For instance, PV systems up to 1.5MWp are running successfully in the high altitudes of Ladakh, and solar agri pumpsets in sub-Saharan Africa have led to better and more reliable irrigation, higher crop yields, and up to a 30% rise in disposable incomes for farmers.

Even in the Indian power sector, solar is emerging as the most economical option. Recent price discoveries, the government’s support for achieving self-reliance in the sector, and the opportunity of pairing energy from solar with storage are promising developments that are going to bring down the last remnants of cost competitiveness of thermal power plants against renewables. With an improved market design and a pool of capital to stir investments in the sector, solar is poised to outcompete traditional thermal-based power generation.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has supported several central and regional governments to improve techno-economic feasibility of solar. We are applying the lessons to intensify this momentum and amplify solar for net-zero global emissions through global advocacy (by providing global information on progress in solar technologies, markets and enabling their application to countries). We are building ecosystems for the flow of inexpensive capital to all countries, and for upgrading skilled workers for a solar-powered green economic recovery. And ISA is helping the most challenged countries to initiate solar projects, which would also streamline their policies and processes for future investments.

This will enable the world to invest in solar energy, facilitate global investment flows and ensure that solar applications are amplified several times over. The technology is ready and it is cost-effective; we need global collaboration to scale it up exponentially and expeditiously.