(Mihir Sharma is a columnist and author of Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy. The article first appeared in Bloomberg on August 28, 2021)
- After making great strides in promoting renewable energy, India is once again being singled out as a global climate laggard. Its negotiators blocked agreement on tackling emissions at the G-20 meeting in Naples earlier this year, publishing an eye-catching dissent calling for the group to focus on bringing down high per-capita emissions in rich countries. India later skipped a ministerial meeting meant to prepare for the next global climate-change summit – the only one of 51 invitees to do so. Its leaders clearly resent pressure to set a date for reducing net carbon emissions to zero, as rival China has. The West’s focus on India’s lack of a net-zero target, however, may be misplaced. It risks missing a potentially major shift underway in the country.
