Experts pitch for fossil fuels to drive growth in India

Energy experts today advocated growth powered by fossil fuels for ending poverty in India as they said the country accounts for very low per-capita carbon emissions as compared to the developed nations.
In view of the increasing international pressure to reduce carbon emissions, experts at a seminar organised by the French Embassy here said that the world has very little to fear from India in terms of climate change as it has a vastly lower per- capita GDP and per-capita carbon emissions.
"Too much noise is made about the fact that India is so much coal-based. The per-capita emission of India is around 1.7 metric tonnes, which is far less than the developed countries.

"Even on emission intensity, India stands at 2.8, which is closer to US (2.5), than China (3.3)," Sunjoy Joshi, Director of Observer Research Foundation, said at the seminar, 'Energy for All: How India pursues its goal of providing energy to all sustainably'.
The experts from various backgrounds called for the adoption by India of a multi-dimensional framework for balancing local and global environmental concerns as part of measures to continue on the path of sustainable energy.
The seminar saw them focusing on the three major issues of accessibility, availability and affordability of sustainable energy.

They advocated growth powered by fossil fuels in order to remove poverty and the need to increase consumption of such fuels in households and rural areas while citing the widespread energy inaccessibility in the country.

"Two-thirds of India's population still use solid fuel for cooking. Providing for increased access (to such fuels) is seen as potentially threatening to sustainability whereas the truth is that it has a negligible impact on it," said Ashok Sreenivas, Senior Research Fellow at Prayas Energy Group.
The seminar was held as part of a monthly series being organised in the run up to the '21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change', that will be hosted by France in December.
The meet in Paris is likely to see an international agreement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global temperature rise and for supporting adaptation to climate impacts.

The discussion also highlighted India's initiative, challenges and polices with regard to energy production, especially in the field of renewable energy with the aim of ensuring sustainable development and poverty alleviation through energy access.