Climate Transition | Costs and benefits of ‘climate transition’ in India unequally distributed: study

File Photo Delhi: The estimated costs and benefits of climate transition in India to mitigate climate change are very unevenly distributed across regions. This is the claim of a study which advocates immediate policy tools to compensate for this disparity. The researchers note that India is taking the first steps towards a ‘climate transition’ with a larger goal of increasing renewable energy, making modest changes to coal-fired power generation, and planning for carbon pricing in the form of emissions trading. Is. Regional wealth disparities “There are already regional wealth disparities in this large country of 29 states and seven union territories,” said Jose Ordónez, a researcher at the Germany-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC). “We determine an ambitious ‘climate transition’ scenario for individual geographical units, and the combined effects on income distribution, employment and industrial competitiveness,” said Ordóñez, who currently works at the Joint Research Center of the European Union Commission in Spain. Let’s examine. The researchers said that this leads to an important conclusion for the central government that without compensatory measures, the gap between poor and rich areas is at risk of widening. The study, published in the journal ‘Energy Policy’, used an input-output model with empirical data to map the direct distributional effects of policy measures. Also read Energy-intensive industries to come under pressure Researchers believe there will be a comprehensive effort towards climate protection, including phasing out of coal, massive expansion of electricity generation from solar and wind power, private A national carbon price of $40 per tonne for households and companies and the abolition of energy subsidies. According to the researchers, the overall impact of the package on different sectors on a qualitative scale ranging from ‘very harmful’ to ‘very favourable’ is significant. The study revealed that the negative impacts are visible in the already poor states of eastern India, which are extensively involved in coal mining, including Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar. Jobs in this sector will be lost, poor families will be burdened and energy-intensive industries will come under pressure, he said. On the other hand, relatively affluent states would benefit greatly from an ambitious climate policy. (agency)