Banishing Coal for Power Holds Key to India’s Net Zero Goal

03/23/2021

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Rajesh Kumar Singh and Debjit Chakraborty | Bloomberg

India must phase out its coal-fired power plants by the middle of this century if it is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by that time, according to a report, which calls for a dramatic overhaul of the country’s fossil fuel-driven economy.

The nation will need to reduce progressively coal’s share in electricity generation, currently at about 65%, and remove it altogether by 2050, according to the report published by The Energy and Resources Institute, a New Delhi-based think-tank, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. The share of renewables in the power mix needs to climb to 90%, a more than eight-fold increase from now.

Under pressure to commit to a net-zero target before climate change talks in Glasgow in November, the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases has been considering a 2050 deadline. The country has so far avoided making pledges beyond its commitments at the Paris climate conference in 2015, arguing its per capita emissions are much lower than the developed world and citing the progress it has made on those 2015 promises. 

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