Climate change is undeniably one of the greatest global threats today. The world is striving to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. An increase of 2℃ would amplify the risk of heatwaves and heavy rainfall events that lead to flooding, among other life-threatening consequences. To realize a mission of this scale, there is an imminent need for global collaborative efforts.

Last month, Neha Dhingra, Senior Manager at CLASP spoke with Divya Sharma, Executive Director at Climate Group as part of CLASP’s India Dialogue Series. Here are our key takeaways:

India strengthens climate commitments at COP27

Neha shared that India reinforced its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with its GDP¹ by 45% in 2030, from 2005. This would require strong and concerted action from multiple stakeholders including governments and businesses. CLASP works with governments across the world, including India, to help mitigate climate change, thus contributing towards Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and net zero energy goals.

“We have to work like communities, not like different nations” – Divya Sharma

Divya added that Climate Group is the Secretariat to the Under2 Coalition, which is the largest global network of states, regions, provinces, and other subnational governments committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. There is a need for stakeholders to come together and work towards meeting collective climate goals together.

Role of energy efficiency in meeting India’s climate goals

Energy efficiency is critical to India’s climate ambitions and is widely recognized as one of the largest and most critical sources to near term success in achieving these ambitions. Neha highlighted that India’s appliance energy efficiency program is considered integral to achieving India’s climate ambitions and delivered the single largest emissions reductions within its portfolio of programs in 2018-2019, accounting for 30% of total reductions.

Climate Group has been working with businesses to drive energy efficiency in their procurement practices.

Moving the needle on clean energy transition

A multi-stakeholder approach necessitates collaboration and is crucial to achieving global climate mitigation goals. Organizations like Climate Group and CLASP are pivotal in bringing stakeholders together. Divya mentioned that Climate Group runs global flagship campaigns (such as EV100, RE100, SteelZero and so on) to collaborate with businesses and governments, accelerating climate action and decarbonization of the industrial sector. CLASP’s Clean Lighting Coalition has garnered support from over 300 organisations in the public health, appliance efficiency, policy and environment domains to advocate for mercury-free lighting.

Equitable representation remains to be achieved

Neha emphasized that the energy sector remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors. Narrowing the gender gap is vital as equitable representation drives innovation and catalyse inclusive solutions. Simultaneously, underrepresented segments bear the brunt of lack of access to energy in developing countries; women are often the ones who are most affected by the negative consequences of poor energy efficiency, such as high energy bills and indoor air pollution. Divya suggested that inclusivity in the decision-making process for climate action will ensure that energy efficiency decisions are made in a way that benefits all members of society, not just a select few.

Building an equitable transition for India

The transition towards clean energy should be just and inclusive as countries across the globe seek to accelerate energy transition to meet developmental and climate objectives. It is exceedingly important for stakeholders to collaborate to identify priority areas, plan concrete action and foster international cooperation.

Climate Group has undertaken efforts to move businesses towards just and equitable transition.

Watch the whole discussion here.

This conversation was hosted as part of CLASP’s India Dialogue Series, a quarterly discussion that aims to address the many facets of energy efficiency and appliances.