India's energy efficiency improved faster than global peers

India has improved its energy efficiency by 1.9 percent from 2000 to 2023. This rise is faster than the global average of 1.4 percent, according to a study by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, India's efficiency still lags behind developed countries like the United States and Germany, which improved by over 2 percent during the same period. The study found that India’s carbon emissions increased by 706 million tonnes from 2012 to 2022. Economic growth was the main reason for this, adding more than 1,000 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Yet, rising energy efficiency helped reduce emissions by 399 million tonnes. Researchers at RBI expect this trend to continue, particularly as renewable energy sources replace fossil fuels. They noted that the use of green hydrogen in industries may also play a significant role in the future. Despite some progress in reducing emissions while growing the economy, India must implement further changes to reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2070. The RBI researchers emphasized the need for India to focus more on expanding renewable energy sources. Currently, solar and wind power make up only 2.1 percent of the country’s primary energy in 2022-23, despite recent capacity increases. They pointed out that renewable energy tariffs for solar and wind are now lower than those for new coal power plants, addressing previous concerns about the costs of renewables.