The buzziest word over the past 24 hours has been “net-zero” and it is because India – in a significant first – has pledged that it will cut its emissions to net-zero by 2070, a target which may be far from ideal but still transformative.
The announcement, accompanied by four other climate-related targets, was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 26th UN Conference of the Parties or better known as COP26 on 1 November.
And the announcement came as a surprise to many, given that India, up until just a few days ago, rejected all global pressures to announce such a commitment.
Along with the net-zero pledge, India has promised to increase its installed renewable capacity and the share of non-fossil fuel energy sources from 40 percent to 50 percent by 2030. All of these commitments do sound great as pledges but how substantive are they in nature?