14
B. Baruah and R. Nath
List of Symbols
GDP
Gross domestic product
USD
United States dollar
BRICS
Acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
GW
Giga watt
MW
Mega watt
NDB
New Development Bank
SE for All Sustainable energy for All
SDG
Sustainable development goals
HIO
High impact opportunities
PV
Photovoltaic
kWh
Kilowatt hour
IEEFA
Institute for energy economics and financial analysis
NOx
Nitrogen oxide
SO 2
Sulphur dioxide
PFF
Project financing facility
EDB
Eurasian Development Bank
CO 2
Carbon dioxide
T&D
Transmission and distribution
IRP
Integrated resource plan
RE
Renewable energy
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Economic Analysis
Sustainable Development Goals calls for a substantial increase in the field of renewable sources i.e. solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower in the global energy mix,
as well as for more efficient use of energy. With the considerable cost of degradation in the environment at USD 80 billion annually, which is equivalent to 5.7% of
GDP in 2009, a major constraint in sustaining future economic growth could be the
environment (Griffith-Jones 2014). It is worthy to note that, it might be practically
impossible or too expensive to clean up later. Certain model simulations indicate that
policy interventions such as taxes in the environment could be used to render positive environmental and health benefits with minimum economic costs (Griffith-Jones
2014). In this context, BRICS energy ministers are committed to:
• Emphasizing for the use of natural resources;
• Reducing the use of fossil fuels by promoting energy efficient technologies;
• Strengthening energy security cooperation with the aid of joint research on strategic reserves, energy efficiency and renewable energy;