WASHINGTON, June 29, 2023 — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $1.5 billion in financing to accelerate India’s development of low-carbon energy. The financing will help India promote low-carbon energy by scaling up renewable energy, developing green hydrogen, and stimulating climate finance for low-carbon energy investments. India is one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world. While the country’s energy consumption per capita is only one-third of the global average, India’s energy demand is expected to grow rapidly as the economy expands. This calls for a phasing down of fossil-based energy sources in line with India’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2070.  The industrial sector is the main driver for future growth of energy demand and emissions, and green hydrogen can play a critical role in initially decarbonizing the hard-to-abate industrial sectors, such as fertilizer and refinery industries, and later heavy industries, including iron and steel. India has achieved impressive progress in renewable energy installed capacity and a decline in costs. Scaling up the production of renewable energy will accelerate the transition to low-carbon electricity and support the emergence and expansion of the green hydrogen sector. Read More