ENERGY EQUITY – ENVIRONMENT
News: The real issue at COP 27 is energy equity
What's in the news?
● In a starkly unequal world, what does the urgency of climate action imply? This has been a central question in the climate change negotiations since the Rio Earth Summit (1992) and will also be at the root of contestations at the upcoming 27th Conference of Parties (COP27, beginning November 6, in Egypt) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
So far developments in the COP 26:
● In the run-up to COP26, last year in Glasgow, several developed countries had declared their intention to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
● Net zero emission: Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.
● These declarations did not square with the requirements of “keeping 1.5 °C alive”.
● Four-fifths of the global carbon budget to limit warming to 1.5°C (with 50% probability) has already been exhausted.
● Carbon budget: A carbon budget is a cumulative amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions permitted over a period of time to keep within a certain temperature threshold. It is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that can be emitted while still having a chance to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.
● Developed countries are responsible for more than half of these historical CO2 emissions.
Global energy inequality:
● Global energy poverty is concentrated in developing countries. In 2021, 733 million people had no access to electricity and almost 2.6 billion people lacked access to clean fuels and technologies.
● Energy poverty: The World Economic Forum defined Energy Poverty as the lack of access to sustainable modern energy services and products. It can be found in all conditions where there is a lack of adequate, affordable, reliable, quality, safe and environmentally sound energy services to support development.
● The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that around 2 billion people worldwide experience energy poverty.
● The average per capita energy use of the richest 20 countries is 85 times higher than that of the 20 poorest countries.
Energy supply and human development:
● Addressing this stark energy poverty in developing countries is important because there is a strong correlation between energy supply and human development.
● The average annual per capita electricity consumption of sub-Saharan Africa is 487 kilowatt-hours (kWh), alongside an infant mortality rate of 73 per 1,000 live births; maternal mortality ratio of 534 per 1,00,000 live births, and per capita GDP of $1,645.
● On the other hand, the OECD group of countries have a per capita electricity consumption of 7,750 kWh, corresponding to an infant mortality rate of seven, maternal mortality ratio of 18, and per capita GDP of $42,098.
Pandemic effect on energy access:
The reality of global inequality was acutely evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.
● Industrial and Agriculture slowdown: Several countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are facing severe agricultural and industrial slowdowns in the post-pandemic period.
● The lack of reliable energy infrastructure has compounded the difficulties and has multi-dimensional impacts across developmental indicators.
● Increasing trend of poverty: In 2022, these inequalities have been aggravated by soaring energy and food prices.
● Several countries face a severe rise in the cost of living and nearly 70 million additional people are estimated to fall below the poverty line of $3.20 per person per day.
● Poor and vulnerable communities in the energy-importing countries of the global South suffer the most.
● Almost 90 million people in Asia and Africa, who gained access to electricity recently, cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
● In this background, COP27 affords a critical moment to acknowledge and address the concerns surrounding energy access and security in developing countries.
● Unfortunately, these long-standing problems of the global South have been ignored by developed country governments, academia, and civil society.
● At a time when the language of energy poverty and security is re-entering the northern vocabulary, it is time to call out the hypocrisy of the advice on fossil fuel use given by the north to some of the world’s poorest regions since the Paris Agreement was signed.
Developed countries role in carbon action:
● In the United States, 81% of primary energy is from fossil fuels.
● In Europe, fossil fuels constitute 76% of the energy consumption (coal, oil, and natural gas contribute 11%, 31%, and 34% respectively).
● Europe’s Accusation: As part of the current global order, Europe accused India of "funding war" in the name of acquiring oil from Russia during the Russia-Ukraine war.
● Thirty years after acknowledging the problem of anthropogenic global warming and committing in the UNFCCC, to take the lead in climate change mitigation, the level of decarbonisation in the global North has been minuscule.
● In July 2022, the European Union (EU) voted to classify the use of natural gas for some uses as “green and sustainable”.
● Natural gas was responsible for 7.5 billion tonnes of CO2 (i.e., 23% of the total CO 2 by the major fossil fuels), in 2020.
● Additionally, in 2022, even coal consumption in the U.S. and the EU is estimated to increase by 3% and 7%, respectively.
What should the developing countries do in the COP 27?
● At COP27, the global South must put the question of its energy poverty and the severe global inequalities in energy access squarely at the center of all discussions.
● To achieve some of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals like, zero hunger, zero malnutrition, zero poverty, and universal well-being requires collective action in the contribution to ensuring effective climate action.
● As the strapline for COP27 (“Together for Implementation”) suggests, we must work together to ensure that these developmental goals are not side-lined, as they were at COP26, in the pursuit of hollow declarations of net-zero targets three decades into the future.
● A developing country's leadership at COP27 can ensure effective discussions, based on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, on the relative responsibilities and sharing of mitigation and adaptation burdens while coping with loss and damage.
Climate funding in the International level:
● Global efforts in adaptation planning, financing and implementation are not enough to prepare vulnerable communities around the world to adapt to the rising risks from the impacts of climate change, according to the recently released United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report, 2022.
● The UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement call for financial assistance from Parties with more financial resources (Developed Countries) to those that are less endowed and more vulnerable (Developing Countries).
● This is in accordance with the principle of “Common but Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capabilities” (CBDR).
● In COP26, new financial pledges to support developing countries in achieving the global goal for adapting to the effects of climate change were made. New rules for the international carbon trading mechanisms agreed at COP26 will support adaptation funding.
● In 2009, at the UNFCCC COP-15 (held in Copenhagen), the developed country parties, to achieve meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation, jointly set a target of USD 100 billion a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. But this commitment has not been kept by the developed countries.
Energy equity in India:
India energy outlook report:
● The report mentioned the challenges met by India on the way to affordable, clean, and reliable energy, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
○ Lack of reliable electricity supply for many consumers.
○ Continued reliance on solid biomass, mainly firewood, as a cooking fuel for some 660 million people.
○ Financially ailing electricity distribution companies.
○ Air quality.
● India has a huge scope for further growth in energy demand and infrastructure.
● India’s energy consumption is the third-largest in the world.
● As per the report, 80 percent of India’s energy demands are met by coal, oil, and solid biomass
● The primary consumption of energy in India to double as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to expand to 8.6 trillion US by 2040.
● The global energy demand growth is the largest for India between 2019-2040 as it accounts for nearly one-quarter of it.
● It has the second-largest growth in renewable energy. China stands at the top.
● India is going to overtake the EU in terms of its energy system by 2030.
● By 2040, India will lead the oil demand growth in the world given its five-fold increase in its per capita car ownerships.
● The demand for natural gas is going to triple by 2040 making it the fastest-growing market for natural gas.
● The natural gas requirement is projected to more than triple to 201 billion cubic meters and coal demand is seen rising to 772 million tonnes in 2040 from the current 590.
● The report also mentioned India’s future dependence on fossil fuel imports to meet its energy needs. It mentioned that India’s production of domestic oil and gas is stagnating.
● Its net dependence on oil imports will increase from 75 percent to 90 percent by 2040 as domestic consumption rises much more than production.
● From 2010 to 2019, the dependence on natural gas imports has increased from 20 percent to 50 percent. The number is expected to rise to 60 percent by 2040.
● The combined import bill for fossil fuels is to triple by 2040.
What are the causes of energy poverty in India?
1. Lack of Energy Infrastructure:
● Because of the lack of modern energy infrastructure like power plants, transmission lines, underground pipelines to deliver energy resources such as natural gas, petroleum to rural areas leads to energy poverty.
● They have heavily relied on traditional biomass such as wood fuel, charcoal, burning crop residue and wood pellets.
● Nigeria, the largest oil-producing country in Africa, is second only to India in the number of people living without electricity.
● Without infrastructure for gathering or delivering natural gas much of the natural gas produced in oil fields of Nigeria is flared off.
2. Lack of Affordability:
● Households at lower levels of income and development tend to be at the bottom of the energy ladder, using fuel that is cheap and locally available but not very clean nor efficient.
3. Inefficiency of Energy:
● Disproportionately high loss of useful energy during energy conversions is a prime factor of Energy Poverty.
● Energy poverty rates tend to drop by 0.21% when energy efficiency index scores increase by 1 point, thus showing the direct effect of energy efficiency in energy poverty.
4. Geopolitical Tension:
● Geopolitical instability results into disturbance in global energy supply chain,
● India’s oil import bill soared to 119 billion dollars in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2022 as energy prices exploded after the Ukraine conflict.
Challenges related to energy security:
1. High Dependence on Imports:
● With its growing dependency on imported oil, India's energy security is under severe strain, and the current disrupted global supply chain is compounding the problem.
2. Delayed Domestic Production:
● Coal, oil, and natural gas are the most important sources of energy in India.
● A major reason for inadequate domestic supply is delays related to regulatory and environmental clearances (Mining of coal is most affected by this).
3. Affordability Concern:
● India ranks low in affordability of petrol, notwithstanding the claims of high subsidies to oil.
● High prices of petroleum products directly contribute to higher retail inflation.
● Diesel prices account for 60-70% of the freight cost in India. Higher cost of freight contributes to price rise for products in every sector.
Important Government Schemes to enable universal energy access:
1. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY):
● The aim of RGGVY is to supply electricity to rural areas of the country.
● The RGGVY scheme is implemented by the Rural Electrification Corporation.
● Families who are below the poverty line will receive electricity free of cost under this scheme. There is no discrimination between urban and rural areas with respect to the hours of electricity supply.
2. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY):
● The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is an Indian government scheme intended to provide an uninterrupted power supply to the rural parts of India.
3. Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana or Saubhagya scheme:
● Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - “Saubhagya” is a scheme to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.
4. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:
● Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is a government scheme that provides LPG connections to households.
What should India do to ensure energy security?
1. Focus on basic energy access:
● The government has to find the energy gap and keep the focus on efforts to resolve it.
● For that, India needs to prioritize basic energy access, from electricity to cooking technologies, etc., for the extremely poor. Alongside, developing countries need to broaden energy access for businesses and the middle class.
2. Better planning:
● In 2018, India reported around 35.2% of its population of 1.38 billion people live in slums. India will see a massive urban housing construction in the next ten years at a scale no other country has seen.
● India has to plan the projects with adequate natural ventilation or sunlight access. Else it will lead to a host of issues.
● Such as an increased purchase of highly energy-intensive cooling devices, the rise of urban heat islands, microclimatic conditions, etc.
3. Focus on marginalized sections:
● India made a concerted effort to provide hundreds of millions of people access to electricity through schemes such as PM Saubhagya Scheme.
● Now, it’s important to engage the energy marginalized and understand their needs.
4. Focus on energy-related meetings:
● To avoid gender bias in appliance selection, India can create energy centers and conduct energy-related meetings at local levels.
● This will create a focus on women’s energy needs and empower women. Thus improving equity in society.
5. Make energy production climate-resilient:
● One of the world’s greatest challenges is to reduce energy poverty while supporting economic growth.
● On the other hand, India has the largest projected energy demand globally.
● So, India must plan to transition as rapidly as possible while securing its ability to generate electricity in the near future.