India’s Integrated Energy Policy: A Source of Economic Nirvana or Environmental Disaster?

Abstract

India’s rapidly growing economy naturally demands increasing energy needs from the industrial scale down to the personal. Mindful of potential negative impacts of economic development, India is making efforts to encourage growth while preserving and protecting the environment and human rights. India’s Integrated Energy Policy sets out the roadmap for how the country plans to achieve the balance among development, environmental protection, citizens’ rights, energy security, and a host of other priorities and concerns. Though ambitious and broad in scope, the Policy may prove inadequate in mitigating environmental impacts of development, and thus inadequate in balancing India’s needs, particularly in the realm of climate change.

Keywords: India, energy, policy, climate change, energy security, environmental impact, human rights, Intergrated Energy Policy, citizen's rights, balancing rights

JEL Classification: A00, D6, H1, H5, K1, K29, K32, K39, K33, L50, L9, M1, N40, N50, N70, O20, Q40, Q42, Q43, Q48