Abstract

India has gracefully met its promise to cut the carbon emissions in order to meet the goals put forth in the Paris Agreement. Over the decades, the country has made efforts not to rely on fossil fuels regarding economic growth. India’s renewable energy capacity has grown from 27 GW in 2000 to about 93 GW in December 2016. The ability of the country is expected to increase to 175 GW by 2022. Further the nation is hoping to achieve its renewable energy capacity by 600% within the upcoming two decades. Despite these successful efforts, India has been struggling to reduce carbon transitioning as many complex matters are intertwined which need to be addressed on priority basis if India desires to promise low carbon economic transition. India is the fourth largest emitter in the world of greenhouse gases, but in terms of accumulated emissions, it has caused minor damage. The various sectors like power and thermal sector, large renewable- energy projects, inefficiency in coal sector, inefficiency in waste management, improved approach to transportation sector and replacement with alternative fuel resources. Considering the above-mentioned circumstances, India is in dilemma to promise net zero emissions by 2050 as these long-term projects have socio-economic impacts on large sections of society. India is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and more than half of its population still depends on agriculture (climate sensitive sector) for its livelihood. The authors through this research paper aim to understand the hurdles faced by India in order to achieve low carbon transition and the possible solutions to remove the same.

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