Characterizing the opportunity and unique challenges for India’s clean energy transition: Jai Asundi of CSTEP

 India’s watershed moment in climate-terms was the Paris COP where commitments were made on co2 sequestration, co2 intensity and renewables. More recently at COP Last year more commitments were made including hitting Net Zero by 2070.  India is a developing industrial nation that needs to balance the right of a population to seek better overall living standards but which also needs to find the right response to internal and external calls for supporting its own industrials as they decarbonize.  Post-CBAM, discussions are ongoing about the nature of a carbon market or more carbon regulations – and from Decarb Connect’s own experience, there are also highly motivated steel and cement organisations in India that are proactively trying to find routes forward.  Join Alex Cameron, CEO of Decarb Connect, as she talks with Jai Asundi, the Executive Director of CSTEP Centre for study of science, technology and policy). They explore the opportunities for domestic and foreign investment around the energy and decarbonisation transition – but also the unique challenges and landscape of India and how this alters the priorities being set.  Key discussion points: -          What will future electricity and co2-intensive materials demand look like in a nation that is on an economic and consumer-expectations journey?-          What kind of production-linked incentives are going to drive the tech ecosystem in India?-          What are the opportunities around pilots of critical tech for both domestic and international industrials?-          How are the CBAM headwinds driving policy discussions and planning?-          How will India’s unique approach to expanding renewables open up opportunities for investors and others in this energy transition?-          The two big climate commitments in india are net zero emissions by 2070 and meeting fifty percent of electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030o   What are the practical implications for these targets (land use, water, carbon capture)o   What could this mean for a developing economy and how people will live?o   What is the size of the opportunity?o   What are the technology and alternative material requirements developing  Show links: -          Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect-          Connect to Jai Asundi and the work of CSTEP-          Read up on CSTEPS report in the Energy and Emissions Implications for a Desired Quality of Life in India-          Take a look at CSTEP’s No Silver Bullet report, exploring the route and reality of achieving Net Zero in India Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester, Houston, Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.