‘Budget pushes India towards net-zero target’
The Union Budget has designated green growth as one of the seven themes with thrust on ecosystem development for green hydrogen, infrastructure strengthening for utilityscale renewable energy power, pushing India towards netzero target, environmental experts said on Wednesday.
They said the focus on green growth, as one of the seven priority areas in the Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, will lend a fillip to the transition towards decarbonisation, and achieving the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the larger net-zero goals.
Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, said the green growth being a priority area in the Union Budget is reflective of the efforts undertaken across sectors to achieve the net-zero targets set for 2070.
"The outlay of Rs 19,700 crore for the National Green Hydrogen Mission and the annual production target of 5MMT by 2030 will serve as an impetus to the decarbonization process and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. So is the provision of Rs 35,000 crore for priority capital investment towards energy transition and net-zero objectives." Madhav Pai, Interim CEO, WRI India and Program Executive Director (Sustainable Cities and Transport), said the inclusion of green growth as a Budget priority in the form of allocations for energy transition, emphasis on battery storage, and green credit announcement offers encouragement for the environmental sector. "The Urban Infrastructure Fund is a welcome move with the potential to contribute toward building resilience in our cities, while the agricultural accelerator, the emphasis on millets and, particularly, support for MSMEs promise a just transition. We are yet to see the details for how some of this will pan out, particularly the green credit programme, but we are headed in a positive direction."
Echoing a similar view, Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO, National Solar Energy Federation of India, said: "Overall, we appreciate the government's green growth specific approach to the Budget which will not only help us realise our climate goals and targets but also make India home to one of the largest energy transition programs in the world."
As the last full budget before national elections in 2024 and heading into India's G20 presidency, IISD Policy Advisor
Balasubramanian Viswanathan said the Sitharaman's speech consolidated the government's position on energy and climate.
The government clearly identifies green growth as one of the pillars of development, announcing support measures for storage and renewable energy evacuation infrastructure. This is a welcome move as India tries to rapidly increase the share of renewables in the grid. The Minister of Finance also pledged Rs 35,000 crore in support for net zero and energy transition objectives, although the details of the plan are yet to be seen. Upon inspection of the petroleum ministry budget, an equivalent support of Rs 30,000 crore as capital support for OMCs) and Rs 5,000 crore for strategic petroleum reserves were found.