Promotion of Sustainable Development through Renewable Energy: Evaluating the Efficacy of Energy Laws in India

Dr. Md Enam Firdos

Abstract: According to Ban ki - Moon, "Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive". [Priscillia Andrieu, Enhancing a Continental Policy on Energy Access in Africa (2016).] Energy plays a pivotal role in running the processes of human sustenance starting from the fulfilment of basic needs to run the bigger industrial establishments including processing & manufacturing units, transportation, agricultural practices, healthcare facilities, business organizations, educational institutions, research facilities, entertainment facilities among others. In other words, energy is like live blood for human existence and survival. In line with the ideas of sustainable development, one should also consider the effects of procurement, generation, transmission, and storage of the energy and sources of energy on the environment even while one recognizes the need of energy. Consider that the most crucial energy source is electricity. The world's share of resources for power generation is 61% from fossil fuels, 30% from renewables, and the remaining 9.1% from nuclear sources, 2023 statistics show. But in India, the share of fossil fuels is higher than 78%; nuclear and renewable energy provide respectively 2.45% and 19.51%. Data for 2023 show that the world's share of resources for power generation is 61% from fossil fuels, 30% from renewables, and the remaining 9.1% from nuclear sources. However, in India, the proportion of fossil fuels surpasses 78%, with renewables and nuclear contributing 19.51% and 2.45% respectively. [Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado & Max Roser, Electricity Mix, OUR WORLD IN DATA (2024), https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix (last visited Jul 14, 2024).] This impacts environment in two ways. At the one hand it is exhausting the finite reserves of fossil fuels, and on the other hand in the process of electricity generation by use of fossil fuels huge quantity of carbon dioxide is released in the atmosphere which in turn causes Green House Gas effect, which in turn causes climate change and all the devastations associated with climate change like temperature hike, melting of glaciers, drought, uneven rainfall, threat to food security among others. So, it is imperative to find some alternatives to the existing sources of energy which will be environment friendly and at the same time will fuel the processes of development. Here comes the role of renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, tidal, biomass, and hydro etc. to fulfil the requirements of energy. Here in this paper, we will discuss the efficacy of energy laws and policies of India towards promotion of renewable energy highlighting its challenges and opportunities in tandem with the principles of sustainable development which is need of the hour for the sake of environmental justice.

Keywords: Energy Law, Renewable Energy, Sustainable, Energy Sustainability, Fossil Fuel Dependency, Electricity Generation, Environmental Degradation, Renewable Energy Sources