St Petersburg, July 17: India is committed to the path of sustainable development and follows environment policies but it cannot accept any commitment that limits the growth of its energy consumption, a document prepared for the G-8 summit said today.
"Energy security is a global challenge and calls for concerted global action. National efforts to achieve energy security, without the benefit of international cooperation, can only yield limited results," the Indian 'non-paper' for the summit said.
It noted that India and other developing countries faced formidable challenges in meeting their energy needs. India needs to sustain 8-10 per cent economic growth to eradicate poverty and to meet its economic and social development goals.
The document pointed out that to deliver a sustained growth of eight per cent through 2031, India would need to increase its primary energy supply by three to four times and electricity supply by five to seven times of today's consumption.
At present, India consumes 0.19 kilogram of oil equivalent per dollar of GDP expressed in purchasing power parity terms.
The document highlighted the need for a diversification of the global energy mix in the medium and long-term to increase the share of renewables for achieving energy security.
The Indian document highlighted the need for cooperative international action to address the issue of high development costs at present associated with renewables.
"From the point of view of India and other developing countries, it is also important that the international community fully abandons its reservations relating to hydro-power," it contended.
India feels that developing countries have significant potential for hydro-power which is a renewable and relatively clean source of energy.
"There is a need for the international community to direct its efforts to find sustainable and viable solutions to issues posed by large hydro-power projects while addressing their potential," it said.
India also strongly pitched for stability in oil and gas prices to ensure that growth prospects of consuming countries were not hampered and, on the other hand, investment in producing countries was promoted.
The document highlighted the need for transparency of and access to all relevant data relating to reserves, demand, supply and investment.
Bureau Report