Energy Efficiency and Emission Abatement—an Indian Perspective

India is having third position in the emission of greenhouse gases across the globe following China and the United States. Thermal power plants based on coal, various industries, transportation, paddy fields and domestic animal farms are the contributing sources of carbon emission in the country. However, India’s greenhouse gas emissions per head are considerably lower than the global average, at just 2.8 tCO2e. In contrast, per capita emissions in China and the United States were 9.6 and 17.6 tCO2e, respectively. Furthermore, India’s contribution to historical cumulative CO2 emissions is also much lower than other major economies, at less than four percent. Also, India is a leader in energy efficiency measures, thanks to the innovative practices of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The BEE has implemented a number of initiatives to promote energy efficiency, including the Standards and Labeling (S&L) program, the Energy Efficiency Building Code (EEBC), the Energy Efficiency Labeling Program (EELP), and the Energy Efficiency Financing Program (EEFP). India has also taken steps to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions through the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme. This scheme allows companies to trade emission reductions, which provides an incentive for companies to invest in energy efficiency measures. The PAT scheme has been implemented from the year 2017 on an annual basis in rolling cycle pattern. Most energy intensive sectors such as Cement, Iron and Steel, Fertilizer, Thermal Power Plants, Refineries, Petrochemicals, Railways and others are covered under this scheme till the year 2020. 17 Mtoe (Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent) energy savings have been noticed through this initiative by the Govt. of India and of about 87 million tonnes of CO2 emission per year have been resulted in this way. By the usage and implementation of energy efficiency measures, 15% of extra energy demand is eliminated and resulted in the reduction of 300 MtCO2 emissions in the period of 2000–2018. The country has pledged in the Paris agreement a 33–35% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. India's energy efficiency efforts are a model for other countries around the world. India's success shows that it is possible to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while also improving economic growth. At the COP26 international climate change conference, India announced more aggressive targets, including the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.