India caught between Davids & Goliaths in global clean energy face-off

The global clean energy race is turning into a David versus Goliath battle between the Global North and South — with poorer nations like India hard-pressed to match the humongous subsidies that the Western world is offering to attract investments and make vehicles and green fuels cheaper for consumers.

The US and Europe are offering 8 to 10 times more subsidies amounting to a massive $650 billion, around 18 per cent of India’s gross domestic product. If that was not enough, Europe has started slapping cross-border carbon taxes from October on imports of certain energy-intensive materials to protect domestic manufacturers.