“For every country, energy security comes first. Without energy security and technology, we can’t talk about the energy transition. Round-the-clock renewable energy isn’t possible without storage. India has plans to increase the share of its non-fossil power capacity to 50 percent by 2030. These are all aspects collectively as a world we need to address. These are critical discussions. Today I am voicing the concern of developing countries. Through this conference, we will address different challenges of energy, technology, finance, and critical supply chain.” This was stated by R.K.Singh, Union minister for Power, new and renewable energy as the keynote speaker on the occasion of the First Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting under G20 summit which is underway at Hotel Taj Westend in Bengaluru from 5th to 7th February 2023. The Ministry of Power, Govt of India is the nodal ministry for ETWG and will lead the discussion and negotiations on focused areas.
He further said that The future roadmap has been finalized by the central governments of these G20 countries. This meeting is one of the preparations of one aspect, i.e., the energy and this aspect is the most critical aspect. At the same time, we have a global climate crisis. The discourse is entirely focused on energy. But it needs to be expanded and we should talk about energy access, energy security, affordability, and energy storage as well. Globally, there are 600-800 million people without access to energy but we have resources and achieved universal access in 2019. He said, “India is the world leader in energy storage and green hydrogen today. We have 1000MW hours of storage. Storage has to become viable. All these developed countries that have been talking about the need for climate action and energy transition have done nothing.” Singh said that India is hosting the prestigious G20 summit this year, and the G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-third of the world population. Giving details Singh said that the Energy Transitions Working Group while retaining focus on achieving energy transition, will emphasizing on addressing technology gaps and finance to ensure that it's delivered across countries in a time-bound and affordable manner without compromising the energy needs of the community. On the occasion, Prahlad Joshi, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines of India was also present. It is pertinent to mention that a high-level international seminar on 'Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage has been organized at the 1st ETWG. India is hosting 150+ delegates from 19 countries, European union, and 9 guest countries. In addition, leading international organizations like the world bank, UNDP, etc. and regional organizations and knowledge partners are part of the meeting. Delegates will also witness Infosys Green Building Campus and Pavagada Solar Park to see India's push towards the renewable sector and efforts to mitigate climate change.