From ‘Phase out’ to ‘Phase down’: India’s COP26 Pledges

Coal production in India

Coal is the most used fossil fuel for electricity production in the world. It provides 37% of the world’s energy and is expected to stay as the world’s highest electricity provider beyond 2030 due to India’s and China’s heavy reliance on it. India is the 3rd largest producer of energy from coal after the US and China, with the demand for coal production only heightening in recent times. Rolling power cuts and a growing economy have been contributing greatly to the growing demand. This deepening reliance has led to a push to auction licenses for commercial mining, which has not happened since the 1970s.

Coal production has been incredibly detrimental to the local environments of regions in India. For instance, the development of smog has been an unequivocal contributor to health and respiratory issues in the country. In fact, air pollution alone has been the cause of 1 million deaths annually in the country. The place that is probably most affected is the town of Jharia in the state of Jharkhand. Due to an accidental fire that occurred in the early 20^th century in one of the town’s coal reserves, the ground has been on fire for more than 100 years with previous attempts to put it out failing. Subsequently, this fire has been undeniably dangerous for local residents as toxic fumes are being released and homes are being destroyed.

India and COP26

On the first day of the COP26 negotiations, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi stated the countries’ pledges. They consisted of reducing carbon emissions by one billion tons by 2030, raising the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50%, and the pledge that was most anticipated, their net-zero emissions pledge by 2070. There were also narratives exclaimed of the phasing out of unabated coal use, which is coal that is produced without carbon capture and storage.

“China and India are going to have to explain themselves to the most climate vulnerable countries in the world,” COP26 President, Alok Sharma.

It was nearing the end of the summit when the controversy surrounding India arose. This was due to a last-minute plea by their Minister for the Environment Bhupender Yadav, to have the words ‘phase out’ be changed to ‘phase down’, in relation to coal production. After the statement, other countries attending expressed their disappointment and highlighted that ‘phasing out’ coal was an essential aspect of keeping below the 1.5 degree threshold.

There has been a perception of villainy being branded on India which has been focused on the country since the outcome of the COP26 negotiations. However, these objections from developed nations can produce a convenient narrative that diverts attention from their own fossil fuels projects that are in the pipeline, such as the UK’s Cambo oilfield and the 3 oil pipelines between Canada and the US.

What needs to happen next?

Transitioning from fossil fuels to more renewable and climate friendly sources of energy is incredibly difficult for developing nations. Especially for countries like India where social and economic development is occurring at a rapid pace. The immediate phasing out of coal would stall the economic progress of the country, which is still stricken with high levels of poverty. The abundance of coal stores within the country is also a hindrance to adopting more renewable energy sources and gas. India has a substantially higher percentage of coal stores to gas stores which makes it easier and cheaper to avail of coal.

In other countries, there has been evidence of the successful transition from coal power to natural gas. For instance, in the UK coal generated 41% of the country’s electricity in 2012, whereas now coal has nearly been completely phased out. Natural gas has taken over as the main source of electrical power in the country. Sadly India does not have the natural or technological resources to transition away from coal in a similar manner.

China and India aren’t solely to blame for the carbon emissions that have been released into the atmosphere. For example, the emissions per person in both of these regions are less than one-quarter of the global average. India’s per person emissions are one-tenth of those in the US. This raises the argument that while the emissions in both of these countries are high, they are still developing nations and due to their massive populations, the individual carbon footprints on average of each person is very low.

The phasing down to the eventual phasing out of coal in India is essential for keeping the global temperature below a 1.5 degree increase and lessening the adverse risks associated with climate change. However, there are also drawbacks that will come as a result of phasing down coal production, particularly within the region of Jharkhand. Here, the are more than 300,000 people employed directly by the coal industry, with almost 7 million people working illegally by scavenging for coal in unused mines. Overall, this employment accounts for 10% within the region. Reducing coal production here would be economically detrimental to the people in the region and would increase the levels of poverty even more.

Therefore, I believe developed nations need to do more to provide financial assistance to India to aid them in adopting more renewable sources of energy that can facilitate their economic growth. The post COP26 criticism that has been aligned with India also needs to be somewhat subsided. Their ability to adopt renewable energy sources while maintaining their rapid development is not on the same level as more developed countries. Developed countries have already done their environmental damage to get to the economic position that they are in now, they have made the playing field unfair for developing countries like India. While I do think it is imperative that India lessens its reliance on coal and carbon emissions, developed nations need to step up and aid them to do so.

Information Sources

Bishop, K., 2021. China and India will have to explain themselves on coal, COP26 president says. CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/14/china-india-will-have-to-explain-themselves-on-coal-cop26-president.html [Accessed December 1, 2021].

Deshmane, A., 2021. How a just transition can make India’s coal history. BBC Future. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211103-india-how-a-just-transition-can-make-coal-history [Accessed December 1, 2021].

Parsons, D. & Taylor , M., 2021. Coal: Why China and India aren’t the climate villains of cop26. The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/coal-why-china-and-india-arent-the-climate-villains-of-cop26-171879 [Accessed December 1, 2021].

Shrayber, M., 2016. A blanket of smog is ruining everyone’s Taj Mahal selfies. UPROXX. Available at: https://uproxx.com/life/taj-mahal-deadly-smog/ [Accessed December 1, 2021].

Vaidyanathan, 2021. Climate Change challenges: India’s need for coal, BBC. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJzxaqws1xQ [Accessed December 3, 2021].