Fractured/Earth

In global circles fighting climate change, India scores a passing grade.

Take Climate Action Tracker, a website tracking countries’ actions on climate change. Citing India’s ambitious renewable energy targets — 450 GW by 2030 – it says the country is on “track to overachieve its ‘2˚C compatible’ rated Paris Agreement climate action targets”. If the country abandons plans for new coal-fired power plants, the website adds, it could become a global climate leader with a “1.5˚C compatible” rating. What is missing from such analyses is a relatively recent development. Since 2017, a rising number of fossil fuel producers, mostly from Russia, America and the middle-east, have begun entering India, seeing the country as one of the last big markets for fossil fuels.

The book is done. I am back in the reporting trenches. And the plan now is to focus more squarely on energy and climate. Part One of the first story, on this rush of fossil fuel majors into India and what it means for the country’s GHG emissions, out today.

Update: This article has also been published by The Wire. I am very chuffed about this. My first byline there!