India Moves Up at 74th Rank in Global Energy Transition Index

India has moved up two places and secured the 74th position on the global Energy Transition Index (ETI) after improvements in all key parameters of the economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability, as per the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual rankings.

According to WEF report, coronavirus will compromise the transition to clean energy without an urgent stakeholder action as unprecedented disruptions due to the pandemic threaten this transition.

The Geneva-based international organisation for public-private cooperation in its report said quoted PTI that its study measuring readiness for the clean energy transition in 115 economies showed that 94 have made progress since 2015, however environmental sustainability continues to lag.

In WEF rankings, Sweden topped for 3rd consecutive year in the ETI and followed by Switzerland and Finland on the second and third positions respectively.

Further, the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th positions were grabbed by Denmark, Norway, and Austria respectively. While 7^th and 8^th positions were secured by UK and France being the only G20 countries in the top ten.

However, the report further stated that the ‘emerging centres of demand’ such as India, which ranked 74^th, and China, which ranked 78^th, have made consistent efforts to improve the enabling environment, which refers to political commitments, consumer engagement and investment, innovation and infrastructure, among others.

In the case of China, problems of air pollution have resulted in policies to control emissions, electrify vehicles, and develop the world’s largest capacity for solar PV and onshore wind energy plants.

While in the case of India, gains have come from a government-mandated renewable energy expansion programme, which has now extended to 275 GW by 2027, added the report.

The WEF in its report also said that India has also made significant strides in energy efficiency through bulk procurement of LED bulbs, smart meters, and programs for labelling of appliances. Similar measures are being experimented to drive down the costs of electric vehicles (EV).

Moreover, India is among the few countries globally to have made consistent y-o-y progress, since 2015. Its improvements have come across all 3 dimensions of energy triangle i.e. economic development and growth, energy access and security, and environmental sustainability, the report further said.

Meanwhile, the 2020 results show that 75 percent of countries have improved their environmental sustainability.