Mumbai, March 21 : At a time when the rising sanctions on Russia following its invasion on Ukraine poses challenges to the energy security of many countries, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday said the transition to renewable energy will now be faster. Speaking at the CII National Council Meeting here, Das opined that given the current scenario, it is possible that there will be a revival of investment on fossil fuels. “There are disruptions…but I am quite confident that the world will recalibrate and readjust to these challenges and come out of this problem as it has done in the past,” he said. While on one hand there is loss of lives (due to the Russian invasion), on the other hand, there are positive developments happening in terms of transition to renewable energy, Das noted. “…at another level, we can expect faster, transition to renewables, and green energy, because of this new sanctions and pressures on supply of crude and gas from Russia to other European countries. I would expect a faster transition to green energy happening, in fact, in all countries because it creates so much uncertainty with regards to availability of crude and gas,” he added. Das further said, “it is also possible that there will be a revival of investment on fossil fuels in advanced countries which have been talking about climate change and which had not been investing at all or marginally in fossil fuel. They will now be forced to invest in fossil fuel and ramp up their production capacities.” Talking about India, Das said that India is already on the path of transition to renewable and is well poised to achieve the targets. “For India, we have our own transition path towards the renewables. India is well poised to achieve them. Now looking at the current situation and looking at India’s prospects, I think, overall, the Indian economy is far better placed,” he added. Das also noted that with the defence expenditure of the European countries expected to increase, especially in the current scenario, Indian defence manufacturers have an opport ty to export their products. “…I think, if the defence budget of those countries goes up, then you can see an opport ty definitely for the Indian defence manufacturers to export our products. India has already made a beginning in this direction and many of the companies already have been exporting for last several years,” the Governor added. PSK SHK2234