Rajendra Pachauri: Indian should move towards renewable energy

For the sake of economics, energy security and the environment, a move towards renewable energy is a must, head of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Rajendra Pachauri said here Thursday.

Warning that "otherwise India is confronted with a very stark problem that could turn into a crisis", Pachauri said the country had to "delink economic growth and high intensity of energy use".        

Releasing a roadmap for India’s energy security till 2031-32 that TERI had presented to the prime minister last October, Pachauri said the country urgently needed to improve energy efficiency, introduce a new integrated transport plan that would reduce dependence on private vehicles, devise a green building code and enhance deployment of solar energy, especially using solar thermal technology.        

Chairman of the 13th Finance Commission Vijay Kelkar said a move towards greener energy sources was "doable with eight percent growth" of the economy. "The era of low energy prices is over, and we have to design our policies accordingly."        

The critical challenge for India, Kelkar said, was "how to move from business-as-usual to a low-carbon economy in anticipation of a crisis, before it happens".        

TERI Executive Director Leena Srivastava, who had led the team that prepared the report, said there was likely to be a six to 6.5-fold increase in energy consumption between 2000 and 2031. Fossil fuels could not fill the gap, so a move towards nuclear power and renewable energy was a must, she maintained.        

–Indo-Asian News Service