The India Energy Hour Presented by 101Reporters

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working group III recently released a report on climate change mitigation. It assessed methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and provided many policy solutions for how countries can contain the climate crisis. To understand what this new IPCC report says, we interviewed Professor Navroz Dubash of the Center for Policy Research and Profe...

Increased heat, drought and wildfires are all linked to climate change. Climate change has altered the physical geography in rural areas by disappearing flora and fauna, and other natural habitats that constitute the livelihood of the local people. In order to understand the ground reality of climate impact in rural areas, we spoke with M Raghuram, Senior Journalist from Karnataka; Shuchita Jha, J...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report recently that made global headlines. A fact from the report came out as a dire warning - over 40% of the world's population is "highly vulnerable" to climate change. However, there is much more in this report, which was authored by 270 researchers from 67 countries. The report explains the global and regional impacts of climate...

Since 2003 when the electricity market in India opened up to private investment, variety of market mechanisms also came up along with it. Long term power purchase agreements have been backbone of power supply in the country. But other short and medium terms contracts have helped meeting sudden demand surge, acted as bridge supply and lately given sale options for renewable energy. Similar contract...

In the last few years, India electrified nearly all its households by extending the  national grid. Yet, reliability of available power is still a major concern. Some rural and remote areas still face power cuts of nearly 10-12 hours a day. Lack of reliable power prevents local economic development as factories and shops cannot function efficiently. Domestic expense also increases as househol...

The power transmission network is the backbone of any nation's electricity grid. India needs to rapidly expand and overhaul its electricity grid network to undertake a successful energy transition and ensure reliable power to all. While state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has led the growth of power transmission in India, a handful of private companies entered the fray in the last...

In the history of the global climate change conferences, it was in the recent COP26 that for the first time there was a separate Water pavilion. Water economy management has faced negligence on the climate discussion table till yet but it is time that water is given the centerstage. Water forms the key bridge in the energy-food supply chain. Water resource management will be crucial to the energy...

CoP26 concluded on November 13 with the Glasgow Climate Pact, signed by leaders from nearly 200 countries. The pact aims to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Throughout the two weeks of the conference there were numerous pledges and declarations. Many experts have hailed the Glasgow Climate Pact and the various climate pledges as a success, while others are not satisfied wi...

COP26, the world’s biggest climate change conference, is now only a week away. After traversing through the history and functioning of climate negotiations in the first part of our COP special series, in this second part, we delve into key negotiation points at COP26, India’s role in the current negotiations, and what could be the bottlenecks and common grounds between developed and developing wor...

COP26, which is the world’s biggest climate change conference, is only two weeks away. Policymakers from over 200 countries will gather at Glasgow to discuss how to move forward with a more ambitious climate agenda. We at the India Energy Hour are really excited to publish two episodes focusing on COP26. We have interviewed two eminent guests who know the ins and outs of COP meetings. This is the...

As India goes into the festive season with a rebound in the economy post Covid second wave, the country is facing a power crisis with over 80% of thermal power plants in the country facing a coal shortage. Many states have warned their customers of power shortage and there is considerable panic anticipating these power cuts. But how did the crisis start, who is responsible for it but more importan...

There is a sudden upsurge of green sector financing in the world - from direct climate financing, ESG goals, to green bonds. India, one of the fastest growing energy markets with ambitious renewable energy plans is looking at these modes to fuel its green targets. How successful though we have been? And as the country and key investors in the green energy space look outward, does India have a robu...

India’s electricity sector is facing two major challenges - low electricity demand and massive overcapacity. On one hand, renewable energy installations are on the rise in the country but it is often curtailed. While 100 GW of solar and wind power have already been installed, 50 GW is under installation and 27 GW is under tendering. On the other hand, India is not cutting down its coal-based power...

Farming communities, forest dwellers, tribals with their rivers, mountains and other natural bounties are in the first line of impact from climate change. The worst part is that the most vulnerable are also the least privileged to save themselves from such havoc. The Indian government has put a strong voice on the global stage of climate discourse but are the climate policies covering the most rem...

India's solar manufacturing industry has seen only lows in the past decade when solar energy came to the fore in the country. On one side there were cheap Chinese imports eating into the domestic market, and then there were multiple policy flip flops. It is now that the sector is having its moment in the sun with big names venturing into it - from Adani to Reliance Industries. Even the government...

The International Energy Agency estimates that over the period to 2040, an estimated 270 million people are likely to be added to India’s urban population. How fast India urbanises and industrialises over the coming decades, and the policies that governs these processes will be of crucial significance for countries’ energy future and global climate mitigation efforts. To understand the implication...

The 10th episode is hosted by Mayank Aggarwal, Contributing Editor, Mongabay India. Mayank is one of the best writers on environment and climate change in India, whose work has been a trailblazer. Mayank will interview co-host & co-founder of The India Energy Hour, Sandeep Pai on his recently published dissertation on Just Transition and talk about the unique datasets that Sandeep used, and th...

G7 nations or group of world's most advanced economies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are reportedly planning to ban all fossil fuel finance globally. In fact, G7 has already declared its intention to stop international funding for coal projects. This fossil fuel finance ban could have an adverse impact on countries in the Global South who are tr...

Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a crushing impact on economies around the world including India. Facing an economic crisis never seen since Independence, the central and state governments are realigning their focus towards welfare and developmental sectors. Renewable energy which is the newest infrastructure sector in India could take a backseat. To understand the impact of Covid on the renewa...

Globally, nearly 2.8 billion people depend on solid fuels such as firewood and biomass for their cooking needs and nearly 1 billion people live without electricity connection. Majority of such people lacking basic energy access reside in African and Asian countries including India. In the last two decades, India has made substantial progress in enhancing energy access through policies that support...

More than 100 countries have pledged to get to net-zero emissions in the next 30 years. There is increasing international pressure on India to join the bandwagon of countries that have declared net zero. Within India, this has sparked a deeper debate. While some groups contend that India can leapfrog and declare a net zero target by 2050, others warn that such a target will impede India’s developm...

Last month, leading car manufacturer General Motors said that by 2035, it will sell only Zero-Emission Vehicles. Many countries around the world are banning the sale of internal combustion engine cars and embracing electric vehicles. In India, the government and leading car manufacturers are also planning to go big on electric vehicles. While these efforts may help make electric vehicles the futur...

India’s energy sector policies are complex. Federal government ministries promote different energy policies that are sometimes at odds with one another. Adding to this complexity, state governments actually have to implement these policies but may have different priorities. In our fourth episode, we spoke to Anil Swarup about the complexity of energy policymaking in India and how India can balance...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently announced that rapid expansion of the natural gas-based economy is a must for the country to become an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-reliant India). However, in the past, the natural gas sector in India has seen very limited growth and is marred with both supply and demand side issues. In our third episode, we spoke to Swati D'Souza, about the prospects of a gas...

Coal provides nearly two-thirds of India's electricity but its long-term future is uncertain due to the rise of renewables. Understanding coal's future requires understanding its past. In our second episode, we spoke to Dr. Rohit Chandra, who is an Assistant professor at IIT Delhi and a visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy and Research. Rohit is an expert on India’s coal sector and public sect...