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<p>United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, called on India to take the lead in transforming global economic, energy, and health systems to save lives, create inclusive economies, and avert the threat of climate change.</p>
<p>Guterres was addressing the 19th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture, an annual lecture series initiated by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in 2002 in the memory of the institute&#8217;s founder and noted technocrat-industrialist, Darbari Seth.</p>
<p>Guterres spoke on &#8216;The Rise of Renewables: Shining a Light on A Sustainable Future&#8217; and stressed India&#8217;s role as a global leader. He said, &#8220;India can become a true global superpower in the fight against climate change if it speeds up its shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Secretary-General outlined how switching to clean energy could benefit millions worldwide at a time when the pandemic puts sustainable development at risk, which will further worsen with climate change.</p>
<p>Guterres highlighted India&#8217;s progress in the renewable energy sector as the country&#8217;s spending on solar energy last year eclipsed coal-fired power generation for the first time, and the number of people employed in the industry has risen five-fold since 2015.</p>
<p>Guterres also lauded India&#8217;s role in embracing technology that will power a sustainable future despite significant challenges.</p>
<p><strong>Solar Leadership</strong></p>
<p>According to Guterres, the advantages of India&#8217;s renewable energy resources are self-evident- it&#8217;s cheap, protected from volatile commodities markets, and offers three times the job potential of fossil fuel power plants.</p>
<p>&#8220;Despite the significant challenges the country faces in bringing shared prosperity to its population, it has, in many ways, embraced clean technology and a sustainable energy future. I applaud India&#8217;s decision to take forward the International Solar Alliance in the form of One Sun, One World, One Grid,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>He further added, &#8220;I commend India&#8217;s plans for a World Solar Bank that will mobilize $1 trillion of investments in solar projects over the coming decade. India has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-solar-capacity-q2-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">37 GW</a> of installed solar electricity to date. I am inspired by the Indian government&#8217;s decision to raise its target of renewable energy capacity from the initial 2015 goal of 175 GW to 500 GW by 2030.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Secretary-General was optimistic that the Indian government&#8217;s decision to attract more international investors, such as the sovereign wealth funds and pension funds like the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec or the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.</p>
<p>He further said, &#8220;I call on India and all its innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to spearhead the global search for a solution to solar cooking at the household level. India can be the business hub to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7.</p>
<p><strong>Coal Subsidy</strong></p>
<p>However, the Secretary-General also commented on fossil fuels, such as coal, which still receive subsidies around seven times higher than subsidies for clean energy. &#8220;The situation is the same in many other parts of the world, something he found &#8220;deeply troubling,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have asked all G20 countries, including India, to invest in a clean, green transition as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It means putting an end to fossil fuel subsidies, placing a price on carbon pollution, and committing to no new coal power plants after 2020,&#8221; Guterres added.</p>
<p>The Secretary-General was pleased to learn that during the pandemic, the proportion of renewable energy rose from 17% to 24%, while coal-fired power declined from 76% to 66%.</p>
<p>Renewable energy&#8217;s share (including large hydro projects) in the installed capacity mix <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-share-in-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inched up</a> to 36.3% during the second quarter of 2020, according to the data from the Central Energy Authority (<a href="http://cea.nic.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CEA</a>), and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MNRE</a>). The country&#8217;s overall installed power capacity also rose slightly to 372.9 GW during the quarter, up from about 372.1 GW in Q1 2020.</p>
<p>Guterres stressed on progressively phasing out coal while helping renewable energy growth.</p>
<p>He stated that the cost of renewables had fallen steeply, and it&#8217;s cheaper to build new renewable energy capacity than operate with 39% of the world&#8217;s existing coal capacity.</p>
<p>&#8220;This share of uncompetitive coal plants will rapidly increase to 60% in 2022. In India, 50% of coal will be uncompetitive in 2022, reaching 85% by 2025,&#8221; Guterres said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Today is the time for bold leadership on clean energy and climate action. I call on India to be at the helm of the ambitious leadership we need,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>According to Mercom India Research&#8217;s Q2 2020 India Solar Market <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/q2-2020-india-solar-market-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Update</a>, more than 70% of India&#8217;s total power generation is from thermal sources.</p>
<p>Image credit: UN</p>
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UN Secretary-General Calls on India to Take Lead in Global Transformation to Renewables

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