INDIAN billionaire Gautam Adani intends to turn his ports-to-power business carbon negative by 2030, helping India reach its climate obligations by nearly doubling its renewable power capacity.
To meet the group’s environmental, sustainability, and governance, or ESG, goals, Adani Group wants to continue investing in clean energy technologies such as green hydrogen and renewables-powered data centers, said Adani, chairman of his namesake company, at the India Global Forum on Wednesday.
“We will do so by carefully balancing our energy migration from carbon positive to carbon-neutral, and further on to carbon negative.”
The comments by Asia’s third-richest man follow rival tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s announcement last week of an ambitious clean energy effort worth 750 billion rupees ($13.54 billion) over three years, signaling a new shift for one of the world’s biggest fossil-fuel billionaires.
Adani Green Energy, the Adani Group’s most valuable company, is at the forefront of the Adani Group’s green effort. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Transmission are all part of the conglomerate’s flagship Adani Enterprises.
“This sustainable investment route has certainly paid off for our stakeholders,” Mr. Adani said. “Since January 2020, the value of our renewables business has increased over 600 times, thereby yielding one of the best returns across all stock markets.”
As of 10.17 a.m. in Mumbai on Thursday, Adani Green shares were down 2.1%, Adani Power was down 0.9%, and Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas were both down 5%. Adani Enterprises increased by 0.4%, while Adani Ports increased by 0.1%.
While pushing for a clean energy transition, Mr. Adani stated that India must ensure that the transition away from fossil fuels does not become expensive for its citizens. “We must be careful that our voice for the environment does not crush the aspirations of the thousands that lack electricity,” he said.
Coal contributes to roughly 70% of India’s electrical generation, though this percentage is decreasing as more clean energy enters the grid.
Mr. Adani stated that the company plans to expand its solar cell and module manufacturing capacity to 4 gigawatts and is also constructing a wind turbine manufacturing facility at its industrial zone in Mundra, Gujarat.
