India energizes COP 26 by pledging 50% renewables by 2030, net-zero emissions by 2070

(The Energy Mix, 1 Nov 2021) India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a shock that may have brought new momentum to United Nations climate negotiations in Glasgow yesterday, in a speech to world leaders that promised a 2070 deadline to bring his country’s greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero.

The pledge was backed by plans to install 500 gigawatts of non-fossil electricity and meet half of the country’s power needs from renewables by 2030, reduce its “total projected carbon emissions” by a billion tonnes by the end of this decade, and reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45%, India Today reports.

While important details of those plans will take shape in the days, weeks, and likely months ahead, independent analysts attending COP 26 said they added up to a 2030 target that would put India on track to achieve its 2070 goal—in contrast to a large proportion of national and corporate net-zero promises that have been long on 2050 spin, but short on 2030 substance.

“The announcement injected new life into talks that had been set back by a disappointing outcome from the Group of 20 meeting in Rome this weekend,” Bloomberg Green reports. “Though India’s goal is two decades behind rich nations such as the U.S. and U.K., it’s compatible with what scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic global warming.”

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The Energy Mix, 1 Nov 2021: India energizes COP 26 by pledging 50% renewables by 2030, net-zero emissions by 2070