India energy demand set to grow fastest in the world; to overtake EU
New Delhi: India's energy demand will increase more than that of any other country over the next two decades, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday forecasting India overtaking the European Union as the world's third-largest energy consumer by 2030.
An expanding economy, population, urbanisation and industrialisation will result in India's energy needs growing at three times the global average under today's policies, according to IEA's India Energy Outlook 2021.
"India has arrived at the centre of the world energy stage," said Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director. Energy use has doubled since 2000, with most of that demand met by coal and oil. This is set to grow about 35 per cent until 2030, down from 50 per cent before the coronavirus pandemic.
India will see the addition of 13 new Mumbais in urban population, boosting demand for cement, steel, electricity, he said.
Birol said policymakers needed to ensure the next wave of growth is met with renewable energy sources such as solar.
IEA saw primary energy consumption almost doubling to 1,123 million tonnes of oil equivalent as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expands to $8.6 trillion by 2040.
India at present is the fourth-largest global energy consumer behind China, the United States and the European Union.
Underpinned by "a rate of GDP growth that adds the equivalent of another Japan to the world economy by 2040", India will overtake the European Union by 2030 to move up to the third position, it said in the report.
India accounts for nearly one-quarter of global energy demand growth from 2019-40 -- the largest for any country. Its share in the growth in renewable energy is the second-largest in the world, after China, IEA said.
"By 2040, India's power system is bigger than that of the European Union, and is the world's third-largest in terms of electricity generation; it also has 30 per cent more installed renewables capacity than the United States," it said.
