India is unable to effectively harness its renewable energy resources, even though it is facing mounting pressure to contain its emissions. This is unfortunate given that the country has only limited tools to cut emissions.

India?s greenhouse emissions are rising due to an increase in energy consumption, a function of economic growth. The country cannot afford to compromise on its long-term economic growth agenda and cut down on energy consumption as it has to create jobs for its fast-growing workforce.

Along with implementation of energy efficiency and clean coal technology measures, India also needs to make optimum utilisation of renewable energy in sectors like power and transport if it has to contain its fast-expanding carbon footprint.

Renewable energy options are available for power generation, heating and cooling as well as for the transport sector. India has to find ways to harness all its renewable energy resources.

It has been successful in harnessing its onland wind power generation potential. It has recently moved to harness its solar potential for power generation. However, it is yet to prepare credible plans to utilise other renewable energy resources such as geothermal, biofuels and offshore wind.

While the government?s solar mission programme may go some way towards containing the power sector?s expanding carbon footprint, the transport sector is unable to benefit from biofuels.

Although the share of the transportation sector in India?s total emissions at 9% is still low, it is rising fast as lakhs of new cars hit the road every year.

Similarly, geothermal, solar and biomass can prove effective energy sources for heating and cooling purposes.

?Recognise renewables as an increasingly competitive key component of a secure, low-carbon and sustainable energy system, along with other low-carbon energy sources and improvements to energy efficiency,? says a study, ?Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice?, released by International Energy Agency recently, noting that ?Global energy markets face unprecedented uncertainty and price volatility as supply and demand patterns change. Concerns about energy security are increasing across a broad range of energy carriers, including gas, coal and electricity as well as oil.?

The report further says: ?The need to respond to global climate change is more urgent than ever. The IEA is convinced that renewable energy, along with energy efficiency, nuclear energy, and carbon capture and storage, has a key role to play in meeting these challenges.?

The markets for renewable energy?electricity, heat and transport fuels?have been growing sharply over the last five years. Deployment of established technologies, like hydro, and newer technologies such as wind and solar photovoltaics, has risen quickly. This growth has increased the confidence in these technologies, reduced costs and opened up new opportunities?particularly in emerging and developing countries, where the need for energy is strong and the renewable resources are favourable.

?Renewable energy deployment has been expanding rapidly, which is evidence that this group of low-carbon energy technologies can deliver the intended policy benefits of improved energy security, greenhouse gas reductions and other environmental benefits, as well as economic development opportunities. Each of the renewable energy sectors has been growing strongly, at rates broadly in line with the IEA projections for a sustainable energy future, such as the WEO 2010 450 Scenario. These scenarios also depend on increases in energy efficiency and the deployment of other low-carbon energy options,? the IEA report said.