The India Energy Hour Presented by 101Reporters

In the history of the global climate change conferences, it was in the recent COP26 that for the first time there was a separate Water pavilion. Water economy management has faced negligence on the climate discussion table till yet but it is time that water is given the centerstage. Water forms the key bridge in the energy-food supply chain. Water resource management will be crucial to the energy transition planning of India – where till two years back, there was no separate department to focus on water scarcity. In this episode, we are joined by Dr Aditi Mukherji, principal researcher, International Water Management Institute. We will discuss the water-energy-food nexus, how clean energy and water conservation go hand in hand and the role water will play in climate adaptation. Dr Mukherji has close to two decades of experience working in the water resource management space. She is considered an authority on groundwater governance, energy-irrigation nexus and community management of water resources. Suggested Links: 1. Profile of Aditi - https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/about/staff-list/aditi-mukherji/ 2. Solar irrigation for agriculture resilience – ongoing project by IWMI https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/about/staff-list/aditi-mukherji/show-projects?C=1084 3. Role of groundwater in agrarian change in West Bengal and Bangladesh: A comparative analysis - https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/what-we-do/projects/show-projects/?C=1143 Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

CoP26 concluded on November 13 with the Glasgow Climate Pact, signed by leaders from nearly 200 countries. The pact aims to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Throughout the two weeks of the conference there were numerous pledges and declarations. Many experts have hailed the Glasgow Climate Pact and the various climate pledges as a success, while others are not satisfied with these agreements. To understand the nuances of what unfolded at CoP26, Sandeep interviewed Dr. Simon Evans, Deputy Editor of Carbon Brief, a UK-based website specializing in the science and policy of climate change. Simon is a leading climate and energy journalist who reported extensively on CoP26. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

COP26, the world’s biggest climate change conference, is now only a week away. After traversing through the history and functioning of climate negotiations in the first part of our COP special series, in this second part, we delve into key negotiation points at COP26, India’s role in the current negotiations, and what could be the bottlenecks and common grounds between developed and developing world. For this episode, we interviewed RR Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow and Programme Director, Earth Science and Climate Change at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Mr. Rashmi was India’s former principal negotiator for climate change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Time stamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:20 - About RR Rashmi and his professional journey 11:52: How has India’s climate negotiation powers changed on the global stage? 28:09:  Key issues that policymakers around the world are going to discuss and what will be India’s position? 38:36 - Will India benefit from climate finance? Is there a need to declare Net Zero 46:35: Are we not committing to phase out coal because we lack the data of how much would be our energy demand? 50:21: India's own plan to reduce coal usage keeps changing. Can we take aggressive steps on coal and gas like the USA and UK? 53:09: What would be the bare minimum that needs to happen to make this COP a success and the maximum? And ideal outcome for a country like India? 59:42 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

COP26, which is the world’s biggest climate change conference, is only two weeks away. Policymakers from over 200 countries will gather at Glasgow to discuss how to move forward with a more ambitious climate agenda. We at the India Energy Hour are really excited to publish two episodes focusing on COP26. We have interviewed two eminent guests who know the ins and outs of COP meetings. This is the first of two episodes. As we look ahead to COP26, we need to look back at the past climate conferences to understand how climate negotiations work, how they have changed over the years and how India's position evolved over time. The upcoming climate conference or COP26 in Glasgow, could turn out to be like nothing before or just as same as earlier COPs. There are expectations that developing countries will take center stage and seek more climate finance. India has made its stance stronger around its ambitious green energy plans along with fossil fuel growth, while it asks the developed world to fund its climate action. In the first of two special episodes on COP26, we interviewed senior journalist Nitin Sethi who has attended and closely followed climate negotiations and COP conferences for close to two decades. Nitin is a member of reporters collective and a partner at Land Conflict Watch. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

As India goes into the festive season with a rebound in the economy post Covid second wave, the country is facing a power crisis with over 80% of thermal power plants in the country facing a coal shortage. Many states have warned their customers of power shortage and there is considerable panic anticipating these power cuts. But how did the crisis start, who is responsible for it but more importantly, how should the countries’ planners resolve the issue and avoid a repeat? To understand these issues, we are publishing a special episode exclusively focusing on the power and coal crisis in India. In this episode, Sandeep is interviewing Anupam Chatterjee, energy journalist at Financial Express newspaper along with India Energy Hour co-host Shreya Jai, energy journalist with Business Standard. Both Anupam and Shreya have been reporting on this power and coal crisis, and are considered experienced writers on the subject/energy sector. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

There is a sudden upsurge of green sector financing in the world - from direct climate financing, ESG goals, to green bonds. India, one of the fastest growing energy markets with ambitious renewable energy plans is looking at these modes to fuel its green targets. How successful though we have been? And as the country and key investors in the green energy space look outward, does India have a robust domestic financing model or agencies to support its green dreams? In this episode, we interviewed Kanika Chawla to understand how climate and green energy financing works. We also explored whether the latest green financing trends are sustainable. Kanika is the program manager for the United Nations Inter-agency Mechanism on Energy where she is working on Sustainable energy for all. She has earlier worked with Centre for Energy Environment & Water in India. Time stamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:22 - Intro of guest 2:17 - Kanika’s journey, key projects by her 9:54 - Challenge or Reward of being a woman professional in a male-dominated energy sector 13:59 - Prevalent financing models in the clean energy sector 22:28 - Financing options for a renewable company who wants to start projects in India 27:56 - Has financing fallen behind the growth of solar and wind in India? 33:11 - Is renewable manufacturing the stepson of financing? 37:43 - Lack and need of proper financing ecosystem for the renewable sector in India 44:04 - Financing support to state owned power distribution companies 51:17 - Are ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) funds a fad or are sustainable? 56:41 - Role and importance of this COP26 in accelerating green energy transition 01:05:43 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

India’s electricity sector is facing two major challenges - low electricity demand and massive overcapacity. On one hand, renewable energy installations are on the rise in the country but it is often curtailed. While 100 GW of solar and wind power have already been installed, 50 GW is under installation and 27 GW is under tendering. On the other hand, India is not cutting down its coal-based power generation but their viability remains under cloud as new efficiency standards kick in. Can India optimize its power sector such that renewables thrive, and efficient coal power plants get preference as India reduces its carbon and environmental footprint? In this episode, we spoke to Dr. R Srikanth, Professor & Dean, School of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the National Institute of Advanced Studies who proposes that India can shut down its old inefficient coal power plants to achieve these optimization goals. This proposal emerged from a large study Dr. Srikanth and his colleagues undertook focusing on the transition plan for thermal power plants in India. Time stamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:19 - Intro of guest 2:49 - Srikanth’s professional journey from corporate to academia 12:16 - New report by Srikanth & his team at NIAS on retirement of old coal power plants 26:02 - Rationals and methodology used in the study 43:16 - Does India need to build more coal power plants? 57:37 - Who benefits from running old & inefficient coal power plants and who loses when they shut down? 01:03:43 - Can India decide on reducing the use of coal and plan for a phase out? 01:16:02 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

Farming communities, forest dwellers, tribals with their rivers, mountains and other natural bounties are in the first line of impact from climate change. The worst part is that the most vulnerable are also the least privileged to save themselves from such havoc. The Indian government has put a strong voice on the global stage of climate discourse but are the climate policies covering the most remotely located climate change affected population? To understand the impact of climate change on the ground and what policy support it will need, we talked with journalist and author Hridayesh Joshi. Hridayesh is a freelance journalist and also contributes to CarbonCopy Hindi - a dedicated news website for environment and climate change reporting. A journalist for close to two decades, Hridayesh has written a definitive account of the Kedarnath flood tragedy in his book The Rage of the River. Hridayesh is considered one of the foremost environment reporters in the country with his ears always on the ground. Time stamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:19 - Intro of guest 2:18 - Hridayesh's journalism journey 8:27 - Evolution of climate reporting in India. 11:36 - Understanding of climate change in rural areas? 14:07 - Impact that rural communities face across India, due to climate change 20:21 - Contradictory phenomenon of rural migration linked with lack of infra development but too much infra leads to ecological damage 29:35 - Climate reporting being devoid of stories of the affected 33:48 - Failure in understanding climate change among policy makers as well as local communities 37:24 - Educating people about climate change & identifying its impact 46:40 - Policy support needed from government to disseminate knowledge about climate change 53:28 - Sensitising policy making to the hazards of climate change, making eco-friendly policies 01:02:25 - Adaptation strategies used by rural communities for tackling climate related impact 01:08:26 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

India's solar manufacturing industry has seen only lows in the past decade when solar energy came to the fore in the country. On one side there were cheap Chinese imports eating into the domestic market, and then there were multiple policy flip flops. It is now that the sector is having its moment in the sun with big names venturing into it - from Adani to Reliance Industries. Even the government seems to be offering a steady policy environment and several sops. To talk about the journey of the sector and what awaits in the future, we talked with Gyanesh Chaudhary, founder and managing director, Vikram Solar. Vikram Solar based in Kolkata was one of the foremost manufacturers in the Indian solar industry and now claims to be the largest. Gyanesh who founded the company comes from manufacturing lineage and started Vikram Solar 15 years ago. The company opened a new unit in Chennai recently. Timestamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:19 - Introduction of Gyanesh Chaudhary 2:12 - About Gyanesh & journey of solar manufacturing 10:43 - Places, people & events that shaped Vikram Solar 16:40 - About China's manufacturing might in solar & their ultra low cost 21:18 -  India's push to renewable power generation without manufacturing ecosystem 23:04 - Business plan of Vikram Solar sans policy support 27:14 - WTO regulations & its impact on Indian manufacturing 29:24 - Comparison between China & India vis a vis financing, government support, sops etc. 33:05 - Is focus now on manufacturing because it makes business sense or there is a policy environment in the country? 35:42 - Ever thought of entering wind manufacturing? 37:24 - Did India miss the bus on solar manufacturing due to initial missteps, pre-2014? 39:49 - Tariff wars in solar and wind and how it impacts manufacturers 43:53 - Future plans of Vikram Solar 45:15 - Entry of conglomerates into solar manufacturing and how it changes the sector's dynamics? 48:18 - Land, Finance, Protection from Imports and Govt Sops. How would you rate these in priority? 51:31 - Weak financing instruments in India for solar manufacturing 56:39 - Contribution of manufacturing to meet 450Gw renewable capacity by 2030. What share of the market is Vikram Solar looking at? 01:02:42 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

The International Energy Agency estimates that over the period to 2040, an estimated 270 million people are likely to be added to India’s urban population. How fast India urbanises and industrialises over the coming decades, and the policies that governs these processes will be of crucial significance for countries’ energy future and global climate mitigation efforts. To understand the implications of India’s current and future urbanization, we interviewed Siddharth Singh, co-lead author of India Energy Outlook 2021, published by the International Energy Agency. Siddharth has researched and written extensively about global and indian energy sector policies. Suggested Reading: https://www.iea.org/reports/india-energy-outlook-2021 Timestamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:19 - Introduction of Siddharth Singh 2:06 - About Siddharth: Life & career 10:34 - Syriana: Do movie scenes replay in real life? 15:00 - IEA Energy Outlook - How urbanisation is linked to energy use? 24:59 - What urbanisation means in India 30:32 - Impact of construction activities on energy & commodities demand 35:55 - Balancing rising energy need with climate mitigation plans 44:14 - Heat pumps as an alternative to ACs in India 47:50 - Incentivising Energy Efficiency for residential segment 51:05 - Contribution of urban transport to Green Economy 58:18 - Urbanisation & carbon emissions 01:10:40 - What urbanisation scenario India is likely to follow 01:13:32 - Imagining future urban landscape of India 01:18:07 - Transition towards greener mobility options 01:22:20 - Role of public spaces in energy efficiency & urban infra 01:26:13 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.