Cleaning Up India's Energy Systems

In the fight against climate change, india’s real challenge will not be building infrastructure, but ensuring that even the poorest can pay the cost of this ‘clean’ energy

- Sunita Narain

When it comes to climate change, three truths must define the way the world, and India, act to combat this challenge. First, we must recognise the urgent reality of extreme weather, attributed to emissions from burning of fossil fuels, that is devasting the entire world. Therefore, the world must act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fast and drastically. There should be no arguments on this.

Second, greenhouse gas emissions, mainly emitted from burning of fossil fuels, are related to economic growth as we know it and, more importantly, the emissions have a long life in the atmosphere. So, when the world talks about an agreement to mitigate emissions it is discussing sharing the growth between nations and between generations. This is why global action to reduce emissions must be differentiated, based on the country’s contribution to the problem. Climate justice is not a moral but essential prerequisite.

Third, a country like India, which has not contributed to the stock of emissions in the atmosphere but is a victim of climate change—the poor in our world are the worst hit today because of intensification of tropical cyclones or extreme weather and rain—must act to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in self-interest. It must do so, not only to help the planet combat climate change, but to ensure that its toxic health burden from a fast degrading environment is reduced.