India's Coal Conundrum: Decarbonization Amidst A Developmental Legacy

Abstract

India's energy system is facing two opposing pulls at the moment. On the one hand, there is remarkable momentum regarding the new, green energy economy and various, policy measures have been put in place to encourage the growth of renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy efficiency technologies and more. On the other hand, India's coal economy is still growing; while its growth has slowed, new coal power plants are still under construction, new coal mines are still being opened, and coal‐based power generation still accounts for over 65% of power generated in the country, a stock which will take decades to reduce. Perhaps more importantly, there are entire regions of the country whose economic dependence on coal runs much deeper than just the associated formal employment and energy sector spending that is usually discussed in high level energy system conversations. This review will cover the embeddedness of coal in social, economic and political life in India, and some of the developmental opportunities that have emerged as decarbonization and energy transition/just transition conversations have started entering domestic policy discourse. Through a more comprehensive engagement with labor concerns, financial dependencies, and India's engagement with global just transition conversations, this review establishes the state of coal debates in India. It concludes with a forward‐looking perspective on how a deeper engagement with regional political economy, states' interests, and coal dependencies can lead to a more constructive conversation around long‐term decarbonization.