Year In Review: Diluting green norms may derail India's climate goals

In 2021, the govt pushed renewables to meet its updated climate aims, but also came up with plans to clear forests and reduced scrutiny of polluting units that could cause further environmental damage

In 2021, India committed to achieving net zero by 2070, but the dichotomy between the ambitious target and the steps taken on the ground is hard to miss. The government has not only diluted environmental laws that regulate erring units but also devised plans to divert forest land to non-forest users.

During this period, India announced other policy measures such as the National Hydrogen Mission for clean energy and the global solar Green Grids initiative to transition away from coal. However, amid the renewed stress on ramping up climate action, the Indian government also amended the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980