Climate action: We must aim for leadership of a race to the top
₹12 lakh. On developing scalable solutions, energy offers an interesting example. On the production side, India has set a target of half of all energy from renewable sources by 2030.
With over 180GW of renewable capacity already installed, we see real progress towards India’s 500GW goal. However, making energy consumption more efficient is an even more exciting part of our journey. Ceiling fans are a prime example.
Control of room temperature is needed in many parts of India, but many people cannot afford air conditioners. Through made-for-India innovation, innovators have adapted legacy ceiling-fan technology to reduce energy use by two-thirds, with only a marginal increase in price, resulting in a market placed at nearly ₹4,000 crore. As for leapfrogging, India has shown its capacity for it in many fields.
Hundreds of millions started directly with mobile phones, for example, helping India avoid heavy investment in telecom landlines. Hundreds of millions jumped over bricks-and-mortar bank branches straight to mobile banking apps. India is now going to be both a source of climate innovation for the world and a market for clean solutions, often by leapfrogging centralized fossil power.
LED bulbs are an illustration of this. The humble light bulb had barely seen any change in technology for decades till LEDs came along. These last longer and use less energy.
As their prices began to reduce, India’s aggregate demand soared, thanks partly to public procurement, manufacturing incentives and aggressive promotion. This is now a ₹15,000 crore-per-year market and many homes have transitioned from no electricity straight to energy-efficient LED bulbs. On the business case for action, an interesting twist has been emerging.
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