Group5_D | SDG 7: Clean and Affordable Energy
The current goal is to ensure the affordability, sustainability, and reliability of modern energy for all.
Why are they essential?
A well-established Energy System must support multiple sectors of the economy ranging from business to medicine, agriculture, education, communication, high-end technology, and infrastructure. With the increase in accessibility to developing countries, renewable energy is making impressive gains by continuously increasing energy efficiency. Nevertheless, it is the need of the hour to divert our focus and attention to improve access to cleaner, more efficient, and safer technology and cooking fuels for nearly 8 billion people worldwide.
Why should I care about the goal when I have access to electricity?
For centuries, non-renewable sources of energy in fossil fuels such as gas, oil, and coal have been used to generate electricity. The primary environmental deterrent in the process is the massive amount of greenhouse gases produced during the carbon fuels combustion process. These greenhouse gases deplete the ozone layer, contribute towards the rise in the global temperature of the earth, which may lead to the melting of glaciers and ultimately leads to rising in the sea levels, which may cause the submersion of low land areas and immensely impact the well- being of the people. These factors affect everyone equally and not just a few people. With the increase in population, global electricity demand is rising rapidly. Relying on non-renewable sources of energy alone may cause large scale instabilities in the world's economies.
What would be the switching cost towards sustained energy?
The different economies need to step forward and nearly triple their investment towards the infrastructure for sustained energy per year. From around $400 billion now to $1.25 trillion by 2030. Regions with the most significant energy deficits—sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia—are in dire need of help and initiatives to free them from the vicious cycle of poverty and increase their accessibility and affordability towards a cleaner and greener energy.
The objectives are an understanding by the worldwide network—including India—to pursue finishing neediness and yearning, accomplish a manageable economy and society, and manufacture more grounded worldwide associations by 2030 and other things.
The objectives, which were received became effective toward the start of this current year, are an understanding by the worldwide network—including India—to pursue finishing neediness and yearning, accomplishing a manageable economy and society, and manufacturing more grounded worldwide associations by 2030, in addition to other things.
For guaranteeing admittance to energy in the Business As Usual (BAU) situation, that is, a petroleum derivative prevailing energy blend, India would require accounts of the request for INR 28 lakh crores for upgrading creation limit alone, and excluding other related expenses. India may decide on two different situations.
On the off chance that India respectably builds the portion of sustainable power and decreases the petroleum product segment from the current 60% to 50%, the monetary prerequisite increments to INR 34 lakh crores. India may likewise pick an energy blend in with net-zero emanations by 2050, for which by 2030 it should decrease the petroleum product energy part further from 50% to 27%, which involves a monetary prerequisite of INR 42.5 lakh crores.
To address the energy security necessities of the nation, alongside alleviating carbon emanations India has increased its objectives for environmentally friendly power extensively. The absolute sustainable power introduced limit in India toward the finish of the monetary year 2014-15 remained at 35.77 GW. The Indian government intends to build this ability to 175 GW by the end of 2022. Under existing arrangements, in the present qualities, the expense of supporting 20 GW of utility-scale solar energy by 2022 is INR 46.97 billion. The current investigation appraises an absolute account necessity of INR 54 lakh crores from 2015-30 to build age limit with a high portion of an environmentally friendly power, introduce transmission and dissemination framework and give admittance to clean cooking fuel.
Business Implications and Responses
The private sector covers around 66% of the power consumption with its revenue and is, thus, strategically placed to gather higher headways that can drive the world away from oil subordinates and progress towards limiting the overall temperature rise to 1.5C before the century's finished.
For undertakings that have prompt or indirect dependence on oil-based goods the subject of moving to renewables is a serious one since they have made frameworks and structures that are being used to maximise the revenues, and moving to renewables can hurt their business prospects, these associations, nonetheless, collaborate with some independent exercises or activities that work towards achieving renewable power alternatives.
Advancements towards clean energy and energy adequacy techniques will outline the centre of any course of action to SDG 7, yet such an advancement needs to shape part of a comprehensive, long stretch framework that speaks to advertise improvement across different nations.
Various global corporations are moving towards the usage of renewable energy, and have ambitious goals to follow. The response of some of these association are as follows:
RPG Group has entered the ecologically amicable power space taking a gander at the improvement of arrangements of daylight based plants and wind farms around the world.
Airtel has placed assets into novel energy conservation headways, smoothing out of resources, and e-waste the board is on a route towards taking out the use of oil subsidiary based energy in their association structure. They have made headways in excess of 70 GWh of energy through wheeling strategies which essentially gathers transportation of energy from the cross-section to outside the network.
MARS: It has fixed their drawn-out natural change want, to diminish total GHG surges from their full worth chain by 27% by 2025 and by 67% by 2050, from 2015 levels. Their undertakings range from an on the spot boundless age like adding sun situated blocks and building yearly arrangements, to checking long stretch, country-level arrangements that make a maintainable establishment in made countries.
CITI: Citi has made a $100 Billion Environmental Finance Initiative to credit, contribute and energize $100 billion over ten years to practices focused on diminishing the impacts of environmental change around the world. Activities supporting boundless and compelling energy is a huge ally of that objective. They have put assets into clients’/organisations’ attempts to make advancements that reduce ozone hurting substance and various radiations.
Chevron: It is one of the world's huge producers of geothermal energy, which has essentially no ozone hurting substance releases. In Indonesia and the Philippines, it supplies enough geothermal energy to address the power consumption needs of millions of people. Chevron uses its contribution with store depiction and ensured, capable exhausting to make this reasonable resource.
Indian renewable energy sector is ranked fourth in terms of its attractiveness. India is ranked fourth in wind power, fifth in solar power and fifth in renewable power installed capacity as of 2018. Installed renewable power generation capacity has gained pace over the past few years, posting a CAGR of 17.33% between FY16–20. With the increased support of the Government and improved economics, the sector has become attractive from the investors’ perspective. Going by the latest reports by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, FDI worth USD 9.22 billion was invested in the Indian non-conventional energy between 2000 and the first quarter of 2020. About USD 42 Billion have been invested in India’s renewable energy sector in the last six years. New investments in the clean energy sector in India reached USD 11.1 Billion in 2018.
Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan is the world’s largest solar plant with a capacity of 2,255 MW.
Highlights of the Indian renewable energy sector are as follows:
Approximately Rs 36,729.49 crore (US$ 5.26 billion) investment was made during April-December 2019 by private companies in renewable energy
Vikram Solar bagged a 300 megawatt (MW) solar plant project for Rs 1,750 crore in 2020
Canadian asset management firm Brookfield will invest USD 800 Million in ReNew Power
ReNew Power and Shapoorji Pallonji plan to invest nearly Rs 750 crore in a 150 MW floating solar power project in Uttar Pradesh
Analysis and Steps Ahead
Despite the noise around affordable, reliable, sustainable, & modern energy for all, the reality is painstakingly dire. With 789 million people lacking electricity in 2018 & with only 17% of total energy share being that of renewables, everybody around the globe needs to step-up.
Looking at the situation from 2020 point onwards, the pandemic has disrupted energy demand & usage. According to the World Energy Outlook 2020, published by International Energy Agency: global energy is set to fall by 5% in 2020, energy investment by 18% & CO2 emissions by 7%. While the economic slump has led to a reduction in emissions, it has impacted the vulnerable most deeply, further impoverishing them. The rise in poverty may make another 100 million people worldwide unable to access basic electricity services.
Global energy demand between 2019 & 2039 has fallen to 9% from 12% in STEPS (Stated Policies Scenario) & to only 4% in DRS (Delayed Recovery Scenario), mostly emerging from developing & emerging economies. Before COVID-19, 2018 saw a steeped increase in financing of fossil fuels with a decrease in grid-connected renewable electricity. The pandemic led to a fall in oil & gas prices along with income cuts, which is both a cost & opportunity. According to MDPI, a 1% increase in electricity consumption leads to a GDP translation of 1.72%. While the energy demand was set to increase, the curve was proposed to flatten by 2050, with the advent of new technologies & larger trends. The COVID allows us to accelerate this change but the success depends on our initiative.
There is a positive linkage between SDG 7 & SDGs denoting a need for access to affordable, reliable, & sustainable energy for:
1. Access to drinking water & sanitation (6.1) – In India, 138 million households don’t have access to clean water but technologies like reverse osmosis & mini-grids can change the game.
2. Access to health care (3.7) - To date 1 of 4 is not electrified in some developing counties. Rooftop solar energy in village health centres positively impacted 38 million households in India.
3. Access to education (4.1) - With online classes having become the norm, electricity needs to breach the walls of rural inaccessibility as 230 million children went to primary school without electricity.
4. Impact on the environment (13.1) – e.g., during the recent Bihar floods, renewable energy mini-grids ensured adequate back-up power & assisted relief operations during the failure of centralized infrastructure.
5. Gender equality (10.2) – 20% of the global renewable energy workforce comprises of women. Programs like ‘Women’s Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Energy’ by U.N. will provide access to finance, skills and promote gender-inclusive energy planning and policies.
STEPS AHEAD:
According to IEA, the future holds 4 scenarios:
1. Stated Policies Scenario: COVID-19 is under control by 2021, and the global economy returns to pre-crisis levels in the same year. The pre-announced policies and targets will be in place.
2. Delayed Recovery Scenario: Global economy will return to a pre-crisis state only by 2023 due to a stretched pandemic and energy demand growth will be at its lowest since the 1930s.
3. Sustainable Development Scenario: An accelerated focus on clean energy policies with increased investment and fulfilment of the Paris Agreement to allow achievement of energy access goals.
4. Net Zero Emissions by 2050: Many countries and companies, including India, are targeting net-zero emissions through the achievement of the SDS scenario. A detailed IEA modelling will need to be observed for the next ten years.
In terms of the electricity sector, renewable energy has made deep inroads, but transportation and heating (make 80% of global energy consumption) are still lagging with access to clean cooking fuels overlooked the most.
The 1◦ vehicle to achieve the goal has been Public-Private Partnerships but energy investments don’t prioritize issues of access in those places where there are huge energy needs + ‘dirty-energy’ PPPs are responsible for the devastating environment.
SHORT TERM:
· Setting policies for enormous scaling of renewable energy through private investment e.g., African Renewable Energy Initiative
· Investing in resilient infrastructure aligned to reduce the temperature by 1.5◦-
i. Carbon pricing
ii. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies
iii. Performance standards for buildings
· Setting quantitative goals under the Nationally Determined Contributions of Paris Agreement with decentralized approach (Multi-Tier Framework)-
i. Concession financing (to the tune of
LONG TERM:
· Stimulating digitization to achieve 100% decarbonization of economies – digitization can help in the resource-efficient method of delivering services e.g.,
i. smart metering
ii. Smart thermostats
iii. AI-based data analytics.
· Applying a bottom-up approach while strengthening sector-coupling.
"The time is upon us, and the future is our witness. The only way to leave behind a legacy is to act with maturity and haste before we are left with no future to save"
References:
- Goal 7 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs (un.org)
- https://www.iea.org/reports/
- https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Goal-7.pdf
- https://phys.org/news/2017-03-elevating-women-status-lowers-solid.html
- https://www.ecohz.com/
- https://www.axisbank.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/sustainability.pdf
- https://www.chevron.com/-/media/shared-media/documents/2019-corporate-sustainability-report.pdf
- Sustainable in a Generation Plan | Mars, Incorporated
- Sustainability | Citi (citigroup.com)
- MDLZ ESG Disclosure May 2020 (mondelezinternational.com)
- fy20-business-responsibility-report-.pdf (bajajfinserv.in)
- Sun Pharma_Low resolution _ Double Spread.pdf
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