India ranks 87th in global energy transition index
India has been ranked at the 87th position among 115 countries in the Energy Transition Index (ETI) that tracks nations on the current performance of their energy systems across various aspects, according to a report. The report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) released on Wednesday and prepared in collaboration with Accenture also draws on insights from ETI. The top 10 countries in the index are Western and Northern European countries, and Sweden is in the first position followed by Norway (2nd) and Denmark (3rd). “China (68) and India (87), which collectively account for a third of global energy demand, have both made strong improvements over the past decade, despite coal continuing to play a significant role in their energy mix,” the report said. As per the report, India has targeted improvements through subsidy reforms and rapidly scaling energy access, with a strong political commitment and regulatory environment for the energy transition. “China’s improvements primarily result from reducing the energy intensity of the economy, gains in decarbonising the energy mix through the expansion of renewables and strengthening the enabling environment through investments and infrastructure,” it added. The index benchmarks 115 countries on the current performance of their energy systems across three dimensions — economic development and growth, environmental sustainability, and energy security and access indicators — and their readiness to transition to secure, sustainable, affordable, and inclusive energy systems. The latest report is based on a revised ETI methodology that takes into account recent changes in the global energy landscape and the increasing urgency of climate change action. “As we enter into the decade of action and delivery on climate change, the focus must also encompass speed and resilience of the transition. With the energy transition moving beyond the low hanging fruit, sustained incremental progress will be more challenging due to the evolving landscape of risks to the energy transition,” Roberto Bocca, Head of Energy and Materials at WEF, said. Other countries in the top 10 are Switzerland (4), Austria (5), Finland (6), the United Kingdom (7), New Zealand (8), France (9) and Iceland (10).
China Gas plans $1.5 bln share sale for gas projects, business development
China Gas Holdings Ltd plans the sale of HK$11.66 billion ($1.50 billion) worth of new shares to major shareholders, to raise capital for gas projects and expansion. It plans to acquire city gas projects in China, and expand and develop liquefied petroleum gas and distribution heating businesses. The gas services provider has agreed to sell 392 million new shares, or 6.99% of the enlarged share capital, to shareholders Beijing Enterprises Holdings Ltd and China Gas Group Ltd, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse on Thursday. The new shares will be issued at HK$29.75 apiece, representing a 9% discount to Wednesday’s close of HK$32.70. The shareholders will buy the new shares on completion of sales of the same amount of existing shares at the same price to third party investors. Beijing Enterprises’ stake in China Gas will be diluted to 22.11% following the deal, from 23.77%, while China Gas Group’s stake will be reduced to 13.69% from 14.71%. UBS AG and Goldman Sachs (Asia) are the placing agents.
India committed to decarbonising economy as a responsible global citizen: Oil minister Pradhan
India is committed to decarbonising its economy as a responsible global citizen, though the country’s priorities are different from the developed world, Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said. Observing that India’s energy demand is all set to increase in the coming years, he told a US think-tank that the future of the growth of energy demand will come from India. The incremental requirement of India’s energy will come from renewable energy, he said and referred to the recent announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that by 2030, India’s energy basket would have 40 per cent of its needs from the renewable sector. “We are an emerging economy. Our priority, our strategy is different from the other part of the global developed economic group,” Pradhan said in his address to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank on Wednesday. He asserted that India is committed to “decarbonise our economy as the responsible global citizen. A decarbonised economy is based on low-carbon power sources that therefore has a minimal output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. In addition to traditional sectors, India is also looking at future sources of energy. Identifying hydrogen as a priority area for India, he spoke about the hydrogen mission; US interest and investment in affordability of hydrogen for mass utilisation and India’s early efforts at CNG (compressed natural gas) blending with Hydrogen in Delhi in the transportation sector. India has a policy-driven model and would work with the United States in the area. Pradhan also highlighted India’s market-driven reforms in energy pricing and distribution. “We will embrace new energy technology … Gradually we will phase out our existing energy consumption pattern. We will transit towards a greener and cleaner path. But looking into our affordability challenges, looking into more price sensitivity in our domestic economy, we are using gas as a bridge fuel,” he said. Oil and coal, he said, will continue to be in India’s energy basket for a period. “But gradually we are making them more cleaner … and we will go up to hydrogen energy. This is our roadmap,” Pradhan said on the eve of the virtual climate change summit being convened by US President Joe Biden. “Western world … has lots of technology, lots of resources, and we have a market. If we can synergise in R&D and the new technology in digitalisation, you will get a market for your technology and financial investment would be safer in a policy-driven market in India,” he said.