Dastur Energy Outlines India's Role in Global Climate Finance

Recognizing the fact that G20 nations contribute to more than 80% of worldwide emissions, with India being the 3rd largest contributor only behind USA & China, Dastur Energy Pvt Limited which is a prominent player in the clean energy sector, has outlined its views on how the country can influence global climate change efforts. While proactive engagement and collaboration across developed and emerging economies are crucial for combating climate challenges, the Texas-based clean energy technology leader believes that India will have to play a larger role by shaping strategies and climate financing alternatives that are relevant across the international climate action landscape.

Presenting the firm’s views on how India holds a distinct opportunity to influence climate finance measures globally, Mr. Atanu Mukherjee, CEO, President, of Dastur Energy Pvt Ltd. elaborated, “The climate change battle requires massive financial commitments, with estimates suggesting that the worldwide transition to net zero needs about $275 Trillion over the next 27 years, or about $10 trillion a year.  For a country like India though, more than $2.5 trillion of investments will be required by 2030 to fulfil its ambitious climate mitigation goals of reducing the country’s carbon emissions and intensity by 1 billion tonnes and 45% respectively. This translates to roughly $170 billion worth of investments required per year till 2030, even as India is able to fulfil only about 25% of its current need across different sectors. While climate related foreign direct investment (FDI) has soared over the past decade, India needs to tap into its domestic financial institutions to raise funds and channel overseas resources into its fight against climate change. We believe that there are several opportunities in this regard and India needs to innovate new-age financial solutions, with the country’s commercial banks and development financial institutions playing a pivotal role in accelerating the transition to net-zero carbon emissions.”

Dastur Energy also highlights the increasingly important role of Corporate India in this journey, stressing the need for greater participation in the domestic carbon market, potentially leveraging a cap-and-trade system for carbon credits to incentivise companies to reduce their carbon emissions. As Mr. Mukherjee noted,  “An increased focus on supporting technology and innovation is the need of the hour in the Indian context. This needs to be supported by increased investments in renewables, wide-spread adoption of sustainable practices and implementation of energy-efficient technologies & systems across carbon-intensive industries and sectors. Parallelly, more work can be done in enhancing carbon pricing, mobilizing development banks and encouraging private finance for better climate action support. The aim should be to amplify collaboration both domestically and with the international community; aligning goals across nations and improving access to funds so as to achieve equitable distribution amongst developing nations.”

As part of the G20 global alliance, India undoubtedly has significant responsibilities in climate change mitigation and will have to envisage ingenious climate finance solutions that can coalesce the financial support necessary to meet its 2070 net-zero target. The country will have to leverage its participation in larger global forums and summits to share its unique challenges and strategies, taking care to address its own climate change imperatives while also helping shape global policies. Dastur Energy remains convinced that India holds a distinct opportunity to influence global climate finance measures by virtue of the country’s multidimensional strategies in creating opportunities and resolving challenges in the climate financing space. Considering its overall experience and steadfast commitment to climate action, India could emerge as a major force in global efforts and serve as a beacon for the global community in the battle against climate change.