"India's coal reserves, which have shaped its energy policies, have been grossly overestimated," the WWF report titled "Rethinking Coal's Rule in India" said.
"India faces a potential energy crisis and the blame rests largely with its over dependence on coal," it said.
It said besides shortage of domestic coal, there are severe social and environmental impacts that are inherent to India's coal sector, like the mounting problem of climate change.
According to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlooks business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, India and China at present account for 45 per cent of the total coal use in the world and will be responsible for over three-quarter of the increase by 2030.
India's energy requirement by 2030 has been projected at over 400 GW, which combines the current installed energy capacity of Japan, South Korea and Australia.
"This will result in India becoming the world's third-largest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter by 2015, in terms of cumulative emissions. Two-third of India's CO2 emissions come from coal used in power generation, which will increase to 69 per cent by 2030," the report said.
The report points out that the large scale use of coal threatens to disrupt the very lives of people in the country that it is seeking to uplift through improved access to energy.
The report said global warming is one of the most urgent challenges faced by mankind and if unaddressed, its potentially calamitous effects will change the world. The average global temperature is now 0.74C higher than it was in 1850, the point at which reliable temperature records became available, the report added.
According to the United Nations Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data, 11 of the last 12 years (from 1995 to 2006) were among the warmest years on record.
Scientists attribute the rising temperatures to excessive amount of greenhouse gas (GHG), especially CO2, emitted largely by fossil fuels, and which remain trapped in the atmosphere for long periods, the report said.
The science is clear on the urgency of pursuing alternative solutions, like energy efficiency, natural gas and renewable energy options, to ensure a climate neutral and economically viable growth prospect for India, WWF Climate and Energy Policy Coordinator and co-author of the report Shruti Shukla said.
The report suggests a number of necessary measures to protect local communities and the environment, if coal continues to play a major role in India's energy future.
Some of the steps, the report suggested, are making funds available for further research, development and deployment of low-emissions coal technology and strengthening government policies.
These actions can be supported through existing clean technology funds and carbon markets based mechanisms like Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the report added.
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