Asia leads global race in renewables: report

Mumbai: Asian investments in renewable energy are growing 23 per cent annually with $345 billion pumped into wind, solar and clean vehicles through 2022, according to an assessment of energy trends by Zero Carbon Analytics.

The region is accounting for 52.5 per cent of global capacity in 2022 - driven largely by China, India and Vietnam, according to a press statement issued in Mumbai.

Asian investments in the electric car and scooter market are also notable with sales of electric motorbikes and scooters in the country increasing by 3,000 per cent from 2015-2022. Globally Asia accounts for 51 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions with vast coal fleets in India, China despite both countries committing to long-term net-zero targets.

The new study that highlights the Asian region as the global leader in wind and solar development coincides with government leaders, businesses and civil society organisations gathering in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru this week to enhance cooperation and discuss climate solutions in Asia and the Pacific.

The report ‘A driving force: Asia's Energy Transition’ is the third in a series of reports looking at evidence of the pace of growth in the clean energy transition.

The report builds on several pieces of research on exponential systems change released by RMI, Systems Change Lab and others this year, which shows that change is happening faster than we think.

Aarti Khosla, Director, of Carbon Copy said: “Asian economies like India, China and Japan are becoming all the more pivotal for global growth especially as the Asian continent is set to contribute about two-thirds of all global growth. As domestic energy consumption will increase off the back of major infrastructure developments and large manufacturing pushes clean energy should be the crux of development.”

Amit Bhatt, India Managing Director, International Council on Clean Transportation said: “In India two-wheelers and three-wheelers are taking the lead in electrifying road transport in the country’s crucial development given that these vehicle segments constitute approximately three-fourths of motor vehicle sales in the country. The electrification of two and three-wheelers also holds significant importance from a public health standpoint in urban cities like Delhi, motor vehicles stand out as the primary source of pollutants, contributing to around 40 per cent of emissions. These vehicles contribute almost half (44 per cent) of these emissions, emphasising the importance of transitioning to cleaner alternatives.”