The world is going green. Pushed to act in the face of regularly occurring extreme weather events, governments globally have made ambitious pledges to cap global warming and mitigate climate change.

At the recently concluded COP-26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, India stunned the world by announcing its goal to become carbon neutral by 2070.

The journey to carbon neutrality will be nothing short of a decades-long march. Nearly half (45%) of India’s current energy needs are met by coal, 25% by petroleum and other liquid fuels, while biomass & waste are at 20%. Hydroelectricity, nuclear energy and other renewable sources account for just 1 percent each of the country’s energy consumption pie.

India will need to strike a balance between its seemingly contrasting goals of emissions reductions and greater industrialization.

The solution to this conundrum is natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel in existence today that can serve as a critical transition fuel.

A study conducted by the IEA across selected regions found that between 2010 and 2018, a switch from coal to gas saved around 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the same as putting 200 million EVs on the road in the same period.

At a time when ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) is becoming an increasingly important measure of corporate

performance, a switch to natural gas can help future-proof a business and its income streams.

This in turn is influencing institutional dealings and businesses need to take action quickly to comply with their client companies’ and countries’ demanding sustainability compliance standards.

Recognising the role of natural gas as a key fuel in the transition from polluting fuels to renewable energy, the government of India has set a goal to double its share of the energy basket by 2030.