Highlighting that according to the COP21 Paris Agreement’s responsibility metrics, he said it was collectively agreed that nations would take up various responsibilities to ensure financing and technology were available to others. Goyal emphasised that not much headway has been made in this direction.
“The developed world is yet to come to terms with the responsibility of different nations when it comes to the climate change crisis,” he said, adding that the developed world has failed in its commitment of providing low-cost, long-tenure funding needed by less developed and developing nations.
The minister made these comments on Nov 3 while speaking at The Energy Transition Dialogues, organised in Delhi by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). The event was held from November 1-3.
He said it was expected of the developed world, the biggest polluters, to rise to the occasion and facilitate low-cost funding. Goyal argued that India, despite having 17% of the global population, has not caused this problem. “Let me remind you: we are not the polluters in the first place, and polluters should pay the principal. So, it’s expected that these countries go the extra mile by providing very low-cost or zero-cost, long-term, ground-based funding to encourage less developed nations to go green… but sadly, the developed world has let down the whole world, with no clear intent visible.”
While developed nations claim to assist developing countries in securing financial support, major Western financial markets exhibit unfavourable business practices towards firms and nations pursuing green objectives, he said. “For our green energy needs, we could not get even 10 basis points lower costs in international bond markets. Even the leading financial markets, based out of the countries considered to be flag bearers of climate change, could not give us a 10-basis point concession in the cost of capital. You get the rates that are determined by your credit rating. I have no problem with that, but the concessional finance part is clearly missing, which is a completely unfair situation. Hence, I say it with complete responsibility that the developed world has let down the financial needs of developing nations. The models they have created largely revolve around private capital.”Goyal also stressed that green transitions require taking certain technologies to the ground level. For example, newer ways of cooling have been developed, but these technologies are mainly held by 2-3 companies that charge a lot. So, these products are out of bounds for ordinary consumers.Consumers should not bear the extra cost of technology, he said, adding that the huge profits that certain technology companies make have to be socialised to allow a widespread energy transition.
The commerce minister said the recent years have seen the country surpass every target in its energy transition story, including promoting clean energy, replacing crude oil demand, and aggressively promoting electric vehicles.
On the developed world’s growing insistence that India should start switching from fossil-based fuels like coal to renewables, he asserted that this will take some time for a country like India. “Give us an alternative, and we are happy to switch,” he said, adding that nobody in the world has a viable option to offer. “People talk about nuclear plants, but I don’t think we have the capabilities or the technology to manufacture nuclear plants on the scale needed for our power sector. So, I think the world has to recognise this serious challenge of finding a viable alternative to coal before preaching to us about alternative fuels.”
The Energy Transition Dialogues saw the participation of various Indian and global experts and policymakers. They discussed actionable pathways for energy transition.
