India must follow a three-fold strategy at the UN Climate Change conference. It must call upon developed countries to advance their net-zero target years by a decade or two. It should draw focus on shorter-term climate goals, particularly for developed countries, and highlight the enormous scale of finance needed for climate action in developing countries.

Renewable energy is gaining traction in India as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. It is cleaner and safer than traditional energy sources. The renewable energy sector in India has achieved substantial progress because of technological improvements in the recent decade. The most used renewable energy sources in India are solar (45 GW) and wind (39 GW), totaling 85 GW out of the total renewable energy capacity of 100 GW.

Hydrogen demand will increase rapidly as several sectors realise its applications. It is important to start building capacity of storage technologies like compressed or liquefied hydrogen now.

It is known that adequate and accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is a necessary precondition for the mass adoption of EVs in India. To support an electric mobility future, governments must focus on building the necessary charging infrastructure – one that supports the target vehicle numbers it hopes to achieve. Even though there is no perfect EV to charging station ratio to aim for, every country will have to design fit-for-purpose solutions to cater to their electric mobility needs.

A lithium-ion battery circular economy will significantly benefit the domestic EV and storage industry. Recycled materials from retired batteries by 2030 can support the manufacture of ~60 GWh LiB cells in India.

The draft Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2021-2026, issued by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited recently, targets developing 20 GW of renewable energy (RE) projects in the state with and without energy storage. The state plans to build RE parks and develop solar, wind, solar–wind hybrid, biomass, waste-to-energy, and mini and small hydro energy projects. Among various projects, the promotion of rooftop and floating solar projects is also planned.

Karnataka is at the forefront of the EV revolution in India, with the state government’s Karnataka Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy, 2017, targeting 100% EV penetration in the IPT segment in Bengaluru by 2030. Though the current share of passenger transport vehicles (three-wheelers, cabs, and public buses) of the total registered vehicles in Bengaluru is ~10%, the daily distance travelled by these vehicles is significantly high (private cars and two-wheelers run ~10 km and autorickshaws/cabs run ~150–300 km per day).

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Technology plays a crucial role in realising the sustainable development goals of India. In this context, the government has introduced various policies to support indigenous development of technology, and strengthen collaborations with foreign entities for technology sourcing and development. However, technology implementation may have some negative impact on the environment during various phases of development.

With pressure mounting on countries including India to address climate change by shifting to clean technologies, the significance of electric mobility to counter emissions cannot be ruled out. While the benefits of the said move are substantial, the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in India has been lethargic at best. In a city such as Bengaluru, with a vehicle population of 80 lakh, the share of EVs is 1%–2%.