Globally, India ranks fourth in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. At COP26, or the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, Modi promised that 50 per cent of the country’s energy requirements will be met by renewable energy by 2030. The time frame is the same for scaling up non-fossil energy generation capacity to 500GW. Modi has also committed that India will reduce its total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030. The country, he pledged, would reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45 per cent.
The time frame for achieving the goal of net zero seems quite long. But then India has several issues to address and each brings its share of challenges.
To begin with, the country is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). The journey may become green by fast-tracking the reduction in carbon emissions. Probably social-environmental initiatives can contribute towards its fruition...