Niti Aayog CEO: Growth must go hand-in-hand with sustainability

NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam on Wednesday said India is committed to climate-friendly growth, but fossil fuels are still driving the country's economic growth.

Addressing an event here, Subrahmanyam said markets alone cannot solve the problem of climate change.

"India is committed to climate-friendly growth...(but) fossil fuels are still going to drive the country's economic growth," he said.

Subrahmanyam further said that NITI Aayog is working with states in developing a roadmap for green energy transition and a pathway to achieve a net zero carbon emissions target.

"NITI Aayog is working with states in developing a roadmap for energy transition...we will come out with a document in November," he said.

Subrahmanyam opined that markets alone cannot solve the problem of climate change.

"India is one of the countries on the track to meet its climate targets under the 2015 Paris Agreement...We are committed to achieving net zero emissions target by 2070, even though less than 4 per cent carbon emission is from India," he said.

As part of its national climate plan, or nationally determined contributions, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India has committed to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based electricity installed capacity by 2030.

Subrahmanyam informed that the government is committed to providing more money for climate finance even though India's per capita energy consumption is half of the global average.

Further, he noted that climate change is also an opportunity for India to become a leader in green technology and all the new green growth-related models.

The NITI Aayog CEO pointed out that states do not know how to generate green projects.