Post Copenhagen Summit Scenario: Attainment of Sustainable Energy Regime in India by Jatropha Biodiesel

Abstract

India has set a GDP growth target of 8–9% in order to transform itself from a developing into a developed world. This level of growth will most likely lead to an increased demand on crude oil imports. It is expected that India will need to increase its imports from 80% to around 90% by 2020 to meet its targeted growth objectives. High crude oil imports make Indian economy vulnerable to volatility in crude oil prices. Another key concern associated with increased crude oil demand is the increase in the green house gases (GHGs) emissions and its negative impact on the climate. At the Copenhagen Summit, participating nations have failed to reach a legally binding agreement. However, India has declared that even with its social and economic development it will not allow per capita GHGs emissions to be more than that of the developed countries (most probably Annex I non-economies in transition countries representing industrialized nations). Jatropha biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can be a potential source of energy for rural and remote areas in India. It can also be viable replacement for diesel, the largest consumed fossil fuel in India. India's National Biofuel Policy targets 20% blending of Jatropha based biodiesel with fossil-fuel based diesel by 2017. There are other significant benefits of Jatropha afforestation apart from the reduction of GHGs such as employment generation, waste land reclamation and additional earnings under clean development mechanism (CDM). Major constraints in meeting National Biofuel Policy targets are land availability without threatening food security and its cost competitiveness as compared to the fossil fuels. The objective of this study is to draw attention on the possible use of Jatropha biodiesel for attaining a sustainable energy regime in post Copenhagen Summit scenario.