Covid-19 crisis an opportunity for transition to clean, cheap energy: Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said the current crisis should be used as an opportunity to make the transition to clean energy smoother, faster, more resilient and affordable.

Goyal, also the minister of railways, further said Indian Railways is committed towards 100 per cent electrification by December 2023and becoming a net zero emitter by 2030, an official statement said on Monday.

He was speaking at the launch of a report on 'Sustainable Recovery Post COVID-19' by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Niti Aayog on September 18.

"This is the right time to move forward and prepare ourselves for a resilient and sustainable future, as rightly pointed out in the report... the current crisis should be used as an opportunity to make energy transitions smoother, faster, more resilient and affordable," the minister said.

Speaking at the event, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said post the 2008-09 financial crisis, green initiatives accounted for around 16 per cent of the total stimulus measures.

"To recover from the pandemic, we must be even more ambitious and decisive towards clean investments," Kant added.

According to the statement,Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian discussed India's economic situation and path to recovery. He mentioned that the pandemic has highlighted the role of sustainable economic development and India is at the forefront of this effort.

The report mentions key sectors for creating jobs -- electricity, transportation, buildings, industry and sustainable biofuels and innovation. A combination of policy actions and targeted investments will offer huge benefits to the economy and generate jobs, it said.