Abstract: Despite relatively low historical emissions, India has set itself ambitious green energy targets to be achieved in the near term. However, meeting these targets and going beyond them to a deeply decarbonized future, with a large proportion of the country’s infrastructure yet to be built, will not be without challenges. In focusing on the scale of the targets and the general optimism about renewable energy, these challenges very often get sidelined and at times are even dismissed as indicative of technology pessimism and reluctance to change. However, for any real progress towards achieving a sustainable and just future for all, it is necessary to acknowledge and address them. This talk will explore India’s energy landscape with relevant global comparisons. I will also discuss the potential directions for the country’s energy sector in general, and its power sector in particular.

Speaker: Tejal Kanitkar is an Associate Professor in the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka, Southern India. She is a mechanical engineer by training. Over the past 15 years, she has worked on various aspects of energy planning and policy, and climate change mitigation. Her research interests lie in the areas of energy, development, and climate policy. She works on trying to integrate perspectives from the natural sciences, engineering, and the social sciences to understand the interconnected aspects of energy production, environmental constraints, and economic development, with a perspective that prioritizes equity in the era of acute environmental crises such as climate change.