Energy Dynamics and Climate Mitigation (eBook)

Asheem Kumar Srivastav is a former Indian Forest Service Officer with the rank of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. His career has combined positions in the Indian government and international organizations including the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Traffic International, and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. He was instrumental in the preparation of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management project for the Government of India. He has provided strategic, managerial, and technical inputs in a range of ecosystems of different countries of Asia including Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. A forester by training, he holds master's degrees in natural resource management and in zoology from the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy and Delhi University, respectively. He has also been trained in natural resource management and forestry at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Wolverhampton, UK, as well as the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

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This book analyzes the current approaches to energy management in India that is based on a carbon-intensive pathway, which if continued, may have serious implications for climate change mitigation with severe consequences for human health and survival. India, being a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; however, the country's dilemmas are whether to prioritize environment over economy or vice versa and also whether economic growth can be sustained by relying on carbon-intensive development. Those are explored in this book.  The Indian economy is poised for a big leap in the near future, and the topmost priority of the government is to ensure energy security, accessibility, and affordability for nearly 1.5 billion people. Currently, 70% of India's electricity generation comes from coal- and oil-based thermal power plants, and only 12-15% of energy is generated from renewable sources. Experts are of the view that the demand for coal and gas power generation will continue to rise and is expected to reach the equivalent of nearly 2 billion t of oil by 2030. The annual consumption of natural gas is expected to increase fourfold to 200 billion m3 a year in the near future, and its share in the primary energy basket of coal, oil, and gas will rise from 6.5% to 15% by 2030. This will not only cause a significant drain on foreign reserves but will also pose an enormous challenge to policymakers and scientists. This book serves as a useful guide in shaping India's future energy policy.