‘Green energy switch must be affordable’

India, the world’s third largest oil consumer, on Tuesday said it is committed to energy transition but surviving the present and cushioning the vulnerable from price volatilities is essential before moving to clean and green energy.

India has committed to net zero carbon emission by 2070 and repeatedly emphasised that ‘dirty’ fuels like oil and coal, on which the economy is two-thirds dependent, will have to be in use in the foreseeable future.

An immediate shift from low-priced coal and oil to expensive fuels such as hydrogen will entail huge costs in a nation with low per capita income.

“We have to make sure our transition entails surviving the present and cushioning vulnerable from volatility,” Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at India Energy Week. “The transition has to be affordable and sustainable for vulnerable sections.”