The Energy Transition is a global concept that describes a major structural shift in the world's energy system, moving away from fossil fuels toward sustainable and renewable energy sources. The current transition is the latest in a series of historical shifts, such as the move from wood to coal during the Industrial Revolution starting around 1760. The modern concept gained prominence after the 1979 second oil shock and was globalised at the 1981 United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy. It was created to solve the dual problems of mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing energy security by decreasing reliance on imported fossil fuels.
The mechanism works through three primary pillars: the rapid scaling up of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, accelerating energy efficiency measures to reduce overall demand, and the electrification of sectors such as transport and industry. For India, this is often framed as Grid Decarbonisation, Industrial Decarbonisation, and Transport Transition. The transition connects directly to India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
India's commitments have changed recently, reflecting increased ambition. The original NDC of 2015 targeted 40% non-fossil fuel-based power capacity by 2030. This was updated in 2022 to 50% non-fossil energy capacity by 2030 and a 45% reduction in emissions intensity from 2005 levels. A further updated NDC for 2031-2035 was announced, aiming for 60% non-fossil sources in installed electricity capacity and a 47% reduction in emissions intensity of GDP by 2035 compared to 2005 levels. The core goal of shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy remains the same, but the targets for non-fossil capacity and emissions intensity have been significantly amended and extended.