Mar 26, 2021
India’s energy sector is confronting the potential for deep, and possibly rapid, structural change, in how energy is supplied to meet the country’s rising demand. There is no doubt that a transition is occurring, but much work is required to ensure that this transition is a just transition. CIF’s new case study on Supporting Just Transitions in India provides insights on this urgent and important topic.
There are numerous drivers for an accelerated energy transition away from fossil fuels, including the rise of cheaper renewable energy that also brings with it significant climate co-benefits. Yet, several barriers are slowing down the shift to clean energy, including the threat of job losses in the coal sector and associated businesses and livelihoods, both in the formal and informal sectors.
In a country where energy access is so closely linked with development, just transition planning is vitally important to take India on an inclusive and sustainable development trajectory. The just transition lens offers important insights into how development, energy, and climate considerations could be brought together to overcome barriers and tap into transition opportunities.
This case study examines CIF’s engagement in India from the perspective of understanding and enabling just energy transitions at the national and local levels. The study seeks to identify the drivers of and barriers to an energy transition in India and reflects on what a just transition at the national level should entail. Within this national context, the CIF projects provide grounded examples of the ways in which issues of social inclusion and distributional impacts are reflected in project implementation.
The case study uses a just transition framework developed under the Just Transition Initiative — a partnership between CIF and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) — to explore the diverse perspectives and approaches of key actors involved in India’s just transitions.
Click here to download the full case study, a short summary of the case study and a Mindmap that maps key just transition players in India.
Also, listen to our latest podcast "Just Transitions: India’s Path Forward"
