Climate pledges: New beginnings or just hot air?

The recent commitment by the US to cut emissions to half of what they were in 2005 and India’s problematic, and often contradictory, clean energy push—do they pass muster?

Climate talks aren’t the easiest to decode. A lot of hand-wringing and grandstanding, along with tall promises, seen at such events, amount to little when put under the scanner. It is with this caveat in mind that one should look at the two-day virtual summit hosted by US President Joe Biden late last week.

Determined to keep his country firmly in the driver’s seat of the global effort to address climate change as he seeks to undo the loss of credibility brought on by the Trump presidency, Biden used the summit platform to  announce his country’s plans to cut its …

Author

Akshay Deshmane

Akshay is an investigative reporter and former writer at The Morning Context. Based in Delhi, he writes about the environment, public policy and economy from the lens of the pulls and pressures of an ambitious democracy. Akshay uses the right to information extensively for reporting stories of vital public interest. Over the past decade and more, he has worked for HuffPost India, Frontline, The Economic Times, Down To Earth and DNA.

akshay@mailtmc.com