US withdrawal a setback for global efforts: ReNew CEO

ReNew Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sumant Sinha says he believes the latest US withdrawal from global organisations working to address climate change is a setback. The Indian industry is also in talks with the government on demands for compensation for revenue losses due to delays in transmission capacity creation, while the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for renewable energy has seen limited uptake, he tells Sudheer Pal Singh in an interview in New Delhi. Edited excerpts:

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What do you make of the latest US withdrawal from 66 global organisations working to address climate change? That list includes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the International Solar Alliance.

= It was on the cards for a long time and had already been baked into people’s expectations. This has been the stated position of the current US administration for a while, and everyone knew it was coming. The US did not show up at the Conference of the Parties (COP). It had, de facto, already pulled out of these institutions. Now it has done so more formally —that’s all.

What would be its impact?

= When the world’s largest economy pulls out of anything, it is clearly a setback. It is a setback for climate action, including the scientific work underpinning climate change studies. Several research and measurement organisations in the US have seen their funding cut.

The benefit of climate research already carried out in the US will no longer be available. When the largest economy pulls out and does not do enough to curb its carbon emissions, it weakens global efforts.

‘The silver lining is that COP still happened, and the other 192 countries reaffirmed their commitment to tackling climate change.

Has the Indian government tackled issues related to the lack of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and grid constraints?