The Guardian view on Indiaâs green growth gamble: it will need more than private finance | Editorial
The worldâs most populous country needs state-generated demand to industrialise, decarbonise and avoid Chinaâs overcapacity trap India is attempting to do something the world has
The worldâs most populous country needs state-generated demand to industrialise, decarbonise and avoid Chinaâs overcapacity trap India is attempting to do something the world has never seen before. So claimed Niti Aayog, the government of Indiaâs policy thinktank, earlier this year.
It said that no major economy has tried to expand GDP nearly eightfold within a generation while simultaneously redirecting its energy and industrial systems to reach net zero within two generations. Hence its detailed report âs claim that there is âno historical precedentâ.
There is something to this. China industrialised at vast scale, but not on a sustainable net zero path. Korea, Japan and Europe became wealthy by industrialising before decarbonising. Today, rich nations have already satisfied the basic demands of their people and created the infrastructure and high per-capita energy use that India is still trying to build.
The worldâs most populous country has to do this while also reducing emissions. Continue reading...
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