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?
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Editor's note: 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 greenhouse gas emissions to half of what they were in 2005 by the end of the current decade. This prompted developed countries like Japan and Canada to announce their own emission cuts by 2030, both in the range of 40% plus, and developing countries like India and China to unveil specific climate friendly measures as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a partnership initiative with the US on clean energy and the two countries issued a joint statement subsequently …
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