Just as important as the long-term target is the current push for renewables, as well as more climate finance from the rich world
Amazement, elation, worry, disappointment, derision – the announcement by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, that the country would reach net zero carbon emissions by 2070 has provoked all kinds of reaction across the spectrum.
India is the world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas polluter after China, the US and the EU. It has far lower emissions per head than the other three and already has a highly ambitious solar programme. At the same time, it depends on coal for two-thirds of its energy generation, and is projected to increase its emissions in the next couple of decades as millions move out of poverty and increase their electricity use.
