India Should Join the Race to Net Zero
It’s on track to meet its existing climate commitments, but it needs to do more.
The view from New Delhi.
Photographer: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
The Biden administration is soon expected to formally commit the United States to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of this century. When it does, nine of the world’s 10 largest economies will have made that pledge or something like it. The lone holdout — India — should do the same.
Unlike many other governments, India’s has generally preferred to under-promise and over-deliver on its climate pledges. The country is on track to meet its previously declared targets of generating 40% of its power from renewable sources and reducing carbon emitted per unit of output 33% to 35% by 2030. But it’s declined up to now to set a goal for achieving net-zero, and it’s pushing back against international pressure to do so.