Low-Carbon Energy Transformation in China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan: An Overview

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

Authors

  • Abdullah Fahimi
  • Kai Stepputat
Approximately 40% of the world’s population lived in China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in 2021. These countries were responsible for about 36% of the world’s CO2 emissions in 2018. Economically, in the same year they represented 20% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Considering the population, the CO2 emissions, and the share of their GDP in world economy, actions in these countries regarding fighting climate change and promoting low-carbon energy transformations have global consequences and are key to realization of 2015 Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (e.g., SDG7 and SDG13). In this article, we review the current energy situation, low-carbon energy targets and challenges to low-carbon energy transformation in each country and provide an overview of general trends and key factors in this transformation. The assessment shows that the above countries are not on the path to achieve the Paris Agreement target. CO2 emissions and the use of fossil fuels are still high in these countries. However, general trends such as decreasing costs of renewables, a decreasing dependency on fossil fuels imports, additional liquidity for energy infrastructure due to fuel costs savings, and remuneration schemes for renewables are all promising for decarbonisation efforts and low-carbon energy transformation.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationElectricity Access, Decarbonization, and Integration of Renewables : Insights and Lessons from the Energy Transformation in Bangladesh, South Asia, and Sub-Sahara Africa
EditorsSebastian Groh, Lukas Barner, Georg Heinemann, Christian von Hirschhauen
Number of pages26
PublisherSpringer
Publication date2023
Pages87-112
ISBN (Print)978-3-658-38214-8
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-658-38215-5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023