Although the COP28 deal required accelerated efforts among countries towards shutting down coal-based power capacity, it comprised on offering more room for India to add more coal-fired capacity in the short to medium term, in a bid to avoid an energy crisis in the country.

This occurred because the final document or the UAE Consensus reached after the Dubai summit no longer included mentions of "limiting the permitting of new and unabated coal power generation".

India plans to add another 30 GW to nearly 50 GW of coal-based capacity, which is already in the process.

India so far has no plan for retirement of coal-fired power plants before 2030, even though it promised to realize carbon-neutral by 2070.

Thermal power accounts for 3/4 of India's power mix, and this figure may be over 60% even after a decade.

"It will be different for countries like India (to reduce dependence on coal) as they will need to depend on fossil fuels for a longer period than advanced countries. India's renewables capacity will be accelerated but even that is not going to meet the fast-growing demand," said Partha S. Bhattacharya, former Chairman of Coal India.

(Writing by Rebecca Liu  Editing by Emma Yang)
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