How Can India’s Energy Sector Recover Sustainably from COVID-19? Part 2 – Environmental Sustainability: Tracking COVID-19 support for fossil fuels and renewables in India

The document examines India's energy sector response to COVID-19, noting a trend of continued support for domestic coal and thermal power despite global clean energy goals. It highlights that while some clean energy initiatives exist, such as electric vehicle policies in Delhi and solar power for farmers in Andhra Pradesh, fossil fuel support remains dominant. The briefing advocates for a comprehensive green industrial policy for solar manufacturing, the phase-out of inefficient thermal plants, and the implementation of 'just transition' frameworks to support coal-dependent communities.

• Global G20 government pledges during the COVID-19 crisis favored fossil fuels over clean energy, with USD 169 billion committed to fossil fuels compared to USD 138 billion for clean energy as of August 14, 2020.
• India has prioritized reducing dependence on imported coal by supporting domestic production, including commitments exceeding USD 6 billion for coal transportation infrastructure and measures to ease commercial mining by loosening environmental safeguards.
• Quantifiable clean energy support in India is limited; one of the few estimated measures is a USD 1.2 billion policy for free solar power for farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
• The Indian government's largest quantifiable stimulus package consists of loans for electricity distribution companies to pay debts to power generators, which primarily benefits thermal power producers without distinguishing between essential and overcapacity generators.
• Renewable energy subsidies in India saw a decline of more than 35% between financial year 2017 and 2019.
• The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to lead to a persistent downward revision of India's GDP growth and electricity demand, increasing the argument for phasing out old, polluting thermal power plants.
• A 'just transition' for India's coal-dependent regions is complex because wind resources have little overlap with coal mining areas, and transitioning miners to solar would require huge capacity in each mining area.
• A separate study by IISD indicates that while subsidies for renewable energy and electric vehicles in India more than doubled in FY 2022, the country still allocated four times more support to fossil fuels than to clean energy.

APA

Beaton,, A. V. (2020). How Can India’s Energy Sector Recover Sustainably from COVID-19? Part 2 – Environmental Sustainability: Tracking COVID-19 support for fossil fuels and renewables in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/how-can-indias-energy-sector-recover-sustainably-covid-19-part-2

Chicago

Beaton,, Anjali Viswamohanan,Christopher. How Can India’s Energy Sector Recover Sustainably from COVID-19? Part 2 – Environmental Sustainability: Tracking COVID-19 support for fossil fuels and renewables in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/articles/how-can-indias-energy-sector-recover-sustainably-covid-19-part-2.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Beaton, |first1=Anjali Viswamohanan,Christopher |title=How Can India’s Energy Sector Recover Sustainably from COVID-19? Part 2 – Environmental Sustainability: Tracking COVID-19 support for fossil fuels and renewables in India |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=19 August 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/how-can-indias-energy-sector-recover-sustainably-covid-19-part-2 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{beaton2020how, author = {Beaton,, Anjali Viswamohanan,Christopher}, title = {{How Can India’s Energy Sector Recover Sustainably from COVID-19? Part 2 – Environmental Sustainability: Tracking COVID-19 support for fossil fuels and renewables in India}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/how-can-indias-energy-sector-recover-sustainably-covid-19-part-2}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }