Indian's energy transition in a climate-constrained world

Energy transitions in developing economies like India are complex processes involving substantial financial and technological resources as well as appropriate innovation. These transitions are central to the climate debate, where emphasis is placed on increasing the
share of renewables in the energy mix to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

This paper examines the historical attributes of energy transition and finds various critical factors that determine the success of such shift: appropriate IPR regimes; local innovation; economic feasibility of the energy resource; and affordability of end-users. These, in turn, are interlinked with socio-political and economic processes of development. In all, suitable support from national and global communities is required to build local innovation capacities, encourage advancement of energy technologies, and allow for the rethinking of income-growth models to transition towards environmentally benign energy resources.