G7 needs to put real money for tran ..

NAGPUR: The G7 summit being held in Germany began with the leading industrialized nations promising to work together to accelerate a clean and ‘Just Transition’ towards climate neutrality.
While agreeing to explore options for decarbonising the energy mix and accelerating the transition from dependency on fossil fuels, the world leaders also supported strong alliances such as Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) as a means to support the country-led transformation of sectors. The leaders represented Germany, Argentina, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union.

Acknowledging the move, energy and climate change experts have stressed on the need of increasing financing for just energy transition partnerships, especially after the Ukraine-Russia war exposed vulnerabilities in global food and energy systems. A latest analysis by Climate Trends highlights how the G7 countries have so far made negligible progress to reduce their domestic demand and dependence on fossil fuels.
Highlighting that the G7 comes at a peculiar moment in the global economy, the analysis states that the energy crisis combined with extreme weather events has turned the tables on climate action plans for many countries including India, which has a total of 236 gigawatts of fossil fuel capacity (including lignite) as of May this year.

According to it, the country’s ambitious announcements at COP26 that half of its energy needs by 2030 will be met by renewable sources and it will achieve net zero by 2070, requires herculean support, especially with increasing climate, economic and geopolitical uncertainties. “As India has chosen to leapfrog from coal to clean, the country must walk cautiously and negotiate on the fundamentals of Just Energy transition by not committing to investment in the transition fuels such as oil and gas to meet its short term electricity demand,” the analysis states.
It also highlights the crucial role played by different states. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have announced plans not to invest further in coal and fossil fuel infrastructure. These states are focusing on phasing down coal power plants either by investing, retrofitting or scaling up more renewable energy capacity. “For this, these states will need sustained and guaranteed finance to fuel their transition,” the analysis adds.
Domestically, India has already set up an action plan on Just Energy Transition with support from the World Bank which has announced an aid of $1.15 million.
Experts believe that the plan’s success will depend on how detailed the finance roadmap for the partnership is. “Just Energy Transition Partnership offers a unique opportunity to promote fair, inclusive, and climate resilient, sustainable development. However funding de-carbonization is a broad agenda and direct funding is a pressing requirement for phasing down coal and for rapid deployment of renewables. The world bank’s commitment on funding India’s energy transition action plan, the recent German pledge on financial and technical co-operation, are just two of the multiple developments in recent months. The total amount and the instrument for financing continue to be the most pressing considerations,” says Purnamita Dasgupta, chair professor at the Institute for Economic Growth.
The Climate Trends analysis also focuses on the proposal of US and Germany regarding a G7 partnership with India to accelerate its energy transition from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral sources. Experts say that a critical portion of this pact will focus on India reducing the number of under-construction coal power plants as well as a gradual phase down of coal mines.
On the challenges, Ulka Kelkar, director of Climate Change Programme at World Resources Institute (WRI), India says, “Phasing down coal power in India can lead to the loss of more than a million coal mining jobs over the next few decades. Younger workers will need skills for new green jobs. Older workers will need pensions and safety nets. Women will need to be able to access these training and job opportunities. And the land around coal mines will need to be restored. This requires international funding to be targeted to coal-dependent regions and communities.”
That the G7 needs to put real money behind the words and ensure a clear finance roadmap for developing nations seems to a unanimous view among experts. The $100 billion a year commitment of climate finance from developed countries to the developing world has been a sticky point at all climate meets.
“As the G7 is creating a country-driven platform with partnerships, this could be a big change. However, if the financing details are missing, as has always been the case in climate, it will only be creating the illusion of G7 headline success without the instruments and mechanisms needed. Credible commitments are essential. G7 can do far better, if willing to go the financial and political distances required with such specificity,” says Dipak Dasgupta, international economist and distinguished fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
With the growing trust deficit between developed and developing economies, India's strategy should be exploring bilateral or plurilateral arrangements with a select group of rich countries who would be ready to financially support its transition. Suggests Vaibhav Chaturvedi, fellow at Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), “While ideally we want to be representative of the world, the pragmatism dictated by arrangements like the just transition partnerships will move the needle on climate action. Finally some contours are

emerging, and I hope that India is able to secure a deal that gives feet to its ambitious decarbonisation goals.”