93: Mapping India's journey to Net Zero: A conversation with Shailesh Haribhakti

In November 2021 Indian announced its updated NDC - to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2070. And to meet 50% of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030. This was a bold and significant moment not just for India, but for the fight against climate change.  

India is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world, though CO2 emissions per person put it near the bottom of the world’s emitters. The numbers are lower still if historical emissions (per person) are taken into consideration. Ditto for energy consumption - average households in India consume a tenth of what is consumed in the US (according to an IEA blog). The good news is that India has overachieved it’s commitments made at COP21 Paris Summit by meeting 40% of its power capacity from non-fossil fuels. 

As the most populous country in the world, India has a long road to growth and energy demand as it speeds up its development agenda. India’s climate adaptation and mitigation efforts if successful, will be transformational for the world. The country’s private sector has a pivotal role to play towards Net Zero, by embedding sustainable strategies in their operations, identifying, deploying and adopting innovative technologies that accelerate the that journey.

India Inc. is being nudged in the right direction by SEBI's mandatory ‘Business Responsibility & Sustainability Reporting’(BRSR) rules, that will see the top 1000 companies disclose their ESG journey publicly for the first time at the end of FY23. The BRSR is framed around three aspirations: Adapting to and mitigating climate change impact; inclusive growth and transitioning to a sustainable economy. 

My guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast this week is Net Zero evangelist Shailesh Haribhakti. We spoke about the drivers for ESG reporting in India, BRSR, India’s energy sector, changes in how renewable assets are owned in India, ’just transition’, EPA laws, Integrated reporting, challenges for the India Inc. and many other issues around climate change, net zero, and sustainability….Memorable passages from the podcast: