Towards net zero

India's 2030 climate targets more relevant than 2070

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the Glasgow meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26), surprised the world by announcing a “net zero” target for India. The target is far in the future, as Mr Modi committed India to carbon neutrality by 2070, two decades after the European Union and the United States and a decade after the People’s Republic of China. Yet this is not surprising, as India has a harder path to traverse if it is to balance its growth needs with the decarbonisation of the economy. Mr Modi did not