India to top US as 2nd-largest carbon spewer from power: IEA

Two-thirds of India’s households are projected to own an air conditioning unit by 2040.

India will overtake the US to become the world’s second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide from the power sector before 2030 as the nation’s electricity demand skyrockets, the International Energy Agency said in its latest World Energy Outlook. Carbon dioxide emissions from India’s power sector are expected to rise nearly 80 percent by 2040 as power use almost triples, driven in part by air conditioning, the Paris-based IEA said in the report released Tuesday. China will remain the biggest emitter.

Two-thirds of India’s households are projected to own an air conditioning unit over that period, a 15-fold increase from today, according to the IEA, citing its main New Policies Scenario. India’s electricity demand for cooling is set to increase by as much as 700 percent over the period, assuming no major improvements in the country’s air conditioning efficiency.

Even with the jump in power demand and emissions, India’s per-capita electricity consumption will remain one of the world’s lowest, according to the report.

India and Southeast Asia combined are the growth centers for coal-fired power, with demand more than doubling over the period to 2040, the IEA said. In contrast, developed nations including Canada, Germany and the UK are considering how to phase out coal for power generation, it said.(Source: Livemint)