COP31 Summit: India is moving forward on its own terms, will make new history despite staying away from the 14-nation accord!

COP31 Summit: At the COP31 conference, which started on November 9 in the city of Antalya, Turkey, this time the entire world’s attention is on electrification, that is, on the maximum use of electricity. Host Turkey has set a voluntary target of 35 percent electrification by 2035 at the conference, which will last until November 20. Many countries are joining the campaign, but India has decided to proceed on its own terms without any external pressure. Notably, India is moving fast on its own domestic targets even without signing any global agreement.

Electricity in almost every home, now look at 2047

India’s ground position on the electricity front is very strong. Almost 100 percent of the households in the country are connected to the electricity grid. Nesvin Rodrigues, senior Asia energy analyst at energy think tank Amber, also believes in India’s strength. He is clear that if India does not sign this global agreement, it does not mean that it is against electrification. Electrification is already underway in India on a large scale. According to India’s own draft electricity policy, the share of electricity in the country’s total energy consumption is expected to double by the year 2047.

With current technology this figure will reach 32%.

Currently, electricity accounts for about 19 percent of India’s total energy consumption (final energy consumption). If commercial use is added, the figure rises to 23 percent, which is equal to the world average of 23 percent. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the share of electricity in India’s total energy consumption will increase rapidly to 32 percent by 2035. Electrification of the transport sector i.e. electric vehicles will be the biggest contributor to this. IEA experts say that India can only take this giant leap using its existing technology. Apart from this, the electricity demand in the country is increasing at a good pace of 5 to 6 percent annually. In such a situation India can join this pledge anytime in future due to its progressive policies.

Which countries signed the agreement?

14 countries have signed this initiative of Turkey so far. It also includes Australia, which is leading the negotiations. Also, Ethiopia, which will host COP32 next year, is also on the list. Apart from this, Germany, Britain, Norway, Finland, South Korea, Pakistan, Zambia, Eswatini and Togo are also associated with this campaign. The European Union is still considering this.

India is working on its own terms

According to experts, India is avoiding signing any kind of new agreement outside of official negotiations so as not to impose any external targets on the country. One reason is that clean energy status can be added to this global goal. Although India’s renewable energy potential continues to grow, there are still some practical challenges in the way. To increase the share of electricity in total energy consumption, grid infrastructure bottlenecks have to be removed. In addition to large initial costs, technical limitations associated with heavy industries are also a challenge. Electrification based on clean energy requires huge investments in grid as well as storage systems, on which India is taking steps accordingly.