India, the poorest of super-emitters, needs a different path to net-zero

Without a wave of financial support from abroad, India will likely rely on homegrown tools that have lowered energy consumption and the cost of living for millions of its people

If all goes according to plan, India will be dead last among the world’s biggest economies to zero out greenhouse gas emissions. And that’s precisely as it should be.

India’s target date to reach net-zero is 2070. That’s two decades after the far wealthier U.S. and Europe. And it includes an additional 10-year cushion separating it from its neighbor China’s 2060 goal. Trying for more severe cuts to emissions much sooner could leave millions of Indians struggling for access to basic staples, including the delivery of more air conditioning to a nation that’s extremely vulnerable to heat waves. In fact, India’s