From Nature, 13 December 2023:
When it comes to renewable energy, India is lucky to have an abundance of natural resources. It is the seventh-largest nation on Earth, occupying around 2% of the planet’s land mass, and has a mainland coastline that stretches for 7,500 kilometres. Most regions experience between 250 and 300 sunny days a year and there are vast areas with strong winds. The government has a keen interest in increasing the manufacture of renewables technology and is providing the support it needs. It spent nearly US$2.4 billion on manufacturing solar-photovoltaic products in 2021, for example.
India’s meteoric economic growth over the past two decades has been fuelled largely by the combustion of coal and oil. Much of its electricity supply still comes from coal-fired power plants, which currently provide 48% of India’s energy supply. And the government continues to open coal mines to meet the rising energy demand from the economy.
But in 2021, the government announced plans to generate 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070 (see ‘Changing the mix’). It would be an important change for a nation that is the third-highest global emitter of carbon dioxide — albeit one of the lowest emitters per capita. Even so, the independent scientific organization Climate Action Tracker considers these targets to be ‘critically insufficient’ and in line with 4 °C of global warming by 2100. Read more …
Bianca Nogrady 