- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA is all prepared to host a crucial conference on Friday (3) as part of the International Climate Summit (ICS) 2020-21 to build a dialogue for its transition to green energy.
The summit will see participation from policymakers, industry leaders, scientists, experts and regulators from across the world. India’s environment minister Bhupendra Yadav and earth sciences minister Jitendra Singh, member of the government’s public policy think tank NITI Aayog Dr V K Saraswat and chairperson of Greenstat India, Norway, Sturle Harald Pederson will be among eminent participants at the event.
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Speaking about the summit, Dr Ashish Kishore Lele, the director of the National Chemical Laboratory based in Pune in the western state of Maharashtra, said the conference on Friday is key for India and also the world in general since it will mark the future mitigation strategies on climate change. He also laid emphasis on the need to adopt the alternative strategies, highlighting the issues that arose because of dependence on conventional fuels.
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One such ‘alternative’ strategy for India’s energy signature – hydrogen power – has been in prominence ever since prime minister Narendra Modi announced a ‘National Hydrogen Mission’ for the country in his Independence Day speech last month.
Green hydrogen, which is produced by breaking down the water molecule into its hydrogen and oxygen constituents using a renewable energy-run electrolyzer, is expected to be a game-changer for India when it comes to meeting its energy needs. The country, which at the moment imports 85 per cent of its oil and 53 per cent of its gas demands, reportedly spends around ₹12 trillion annually on its energy requirements.
Modi said while announcing the policy that India aims to turn into a global hub for green hydrogen production and exports. The ICS conference on Friday aims to discuss strategies to power India’s hydrogen ecosystem, among others.
The ICS 2021 climate summit is being held in partnership with Invest India and its focus will be on ‘Powering India’s Hydrogen Ecosystem’. It is being organised by the environment committee of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), a non-government industrial development body.
A major conference on climate change – COP26 – is coming up next month in Glasgow, Scotland. Its president Alok Sharma said in August that it will be the last chance to ensure that the global temperature doesn’t rise beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius, the lower limit of the Paris Agreement of 2016.
