In a significant step towards realising its climate goals, India organised the 25th Prime Minister’s Science, Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) meeting on Monday. Critical to its agenda of reducing emission intensity by 45% by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2070, several CCUS technologies have been highlighted in its strategy.
Key Highlights of the Meeting
The key stakeholder meeting held at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe was chaired by Professor Ajay Kumar Sood and gathered major government officials and industry experts to discuss stepping up mobilization of CCUS technology application across tough and hard-to-abate sectors.
Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, Science, and Technology at NITI Aayog, has also given high importance to the technologies of CCUS, citing that these technologies are significant for achieving the country’s 2030 and 2070 climate targets for India. He has also elevated the role of the technical committees that the Advisory Committee of NITI has formed to draw up a doable policy framework for proper implementation of these initiatives.
Detailed Discussions and Presentations
The session took up detailed discussions of the reports from these committees, covering the entire spectrum of CO2 capture, utilization, transportation, and storage. The first session was led by a presentation on the committee’s findings made by Mr. Rajnath Ram, Advisor/Head of Energy, NITI Aayog, with a roadmap toward formulating a robust CCUS policy framework in India.
Industry experts also shared their views on the formulation for the creation of a full CCUS value chain, aligned specifically in an Indian context. They further presented the measures taken by the power generation companies toward integration of CCUS technologies in their operation. It contained the development of a national portal for projects related to CCUS to ensure collaboration amongst all stakeholders. One senior official from the Department of Science and Technology revealed that if such a platform had been available, all the efforts would have been centralized and clearly organized in order to take actions through the line ministries and departments.
Future Steps and National Coordination
In his concluding remarks, Professor Sood forcefully argued that CCUS technologies must be implemented throughout the country in mission mode. Of course, he hastened to clarify that while the Ministry of Power should take the lead role, coordination with other relevant ministries would be needed. His suggestion drew wide acceptance and was a major step forward in unison for India’s environment strategy.
Broader Implications
CCUS technologies will form one of the most important facets in the journey of India towards net-zero emissions. It will be focused on technologies helping to surmount difficult-to-abate sectors and thus meet the commitments made under its climate agenda. All these will help not only in the commitment of India to her climate agenda but also in sync with global efforts to avert disastrous impacts of climate change.
The PM-STIAC meeting imparted the need for government-industry collaboration: Expertise provided by industry leaders and strategic directions by the government body, it is poised to build resilient and sustainable development in times to come. Emphasis on CCUS Technologies flags off Commitment of India towards Innovation and Sustainable Development.
Conclusion
This PM-STIAC meeting made the difference in the environment strategy for India. The roadmap proposed and all collaborative efforts are highly likely to put India on a very strong footing to do substantial progress toward its climate goals. And CCUS technologies take the center stage of India’s commitment to mitigating climate change and building a sustainable future.