India plans to increase coal gasification capacity to 100 MTPA by 2030 to reduce imports and boost domestic production. However, environmental experts warn that pollution, carbon emissions, water stress, and public health concerns could undermine the promise of “clean coal.”
Climate discourse often treats decarbonisation like a universal one-pot recipe: add renewables, subtract fossil fuels, stir in net-zero targets, and serve before 2050. But for countries in the Global South such as India, still navigating poverty alleviation, industrial growth, and reliable energy access simultaneously, the transition cannot be copypasted from the Global North template. India…
If India lags in switching to a more climate-friendly steelmaking method, a recent United Nations report finds that its top steel exports could decline by up to 30 percent by 2035 as key trading nations impose a carbon-content-based border tax. But if India moves early, then it can trim the decline to just 10 percent….
When the India AI Impact Summit wrapped up in New Delhi this February, the headline numbers were about investment: over $200 billion in commitments, a $15 billion data centre hub from Google in Visakhapatnam, and a national AI market expected to grow from roughly $9.5 billion in 2024 to $130 billion by 2032. Less discussed,…
As India races to become a global AI hub, its data centres are quietly consuming water from some of the country’s most stressed aquifers. The environmental cost of India’s digital economy is a policy conversation we are overdue to have. Every time you stream a film on a Mumbai morning commute, every email you send…
The global plastics treaty is at risk of becoming a waste management agreement that ignores the root cause: rising plastic production. Without binding caps, pollution will continue to grow despite improved recycling efforts. What Was Promised and What Is Happening In March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi agreed to negotiate a legally binding…
Greenwashing in India is rising as companies make misleading sustainability claims, despite stricter ESG regulations. Weak enforcement and fragmented oversight continue to undermine accountability and consumer trust. Introduction In the summer of 2023, a close friend of mine bought a well-known brand’s “eco-friendly” range of personal care products. She paid a premium. She chose them…
The Farmer Who Cannot Wait for a Summit The paddy farmers follow 2 different calendars in the flat fields of Bihar, India. The farming calendar, ten months during which rains come, seeds get sowed and harvest is due. The other happens to be the disasters calendar. The time when years of floods wipe out the…
The anti-ESG backlash is weakening accountability systems and cutting funding for gender-focused programmes globally. As ESG rollbacks and aid reductions grow, women are disproportionately bearing the impact, slowing progress on equality. Trump-era ESG rollbacks and global aid cuts are hitting gender programmes hardest. The UN has the numbers. The corporate sector is looking the other…
India and the World Bank have signed a $300 million agreement to launch the Haryana Clean Air Project, aiming to reduce pollution through electric buses, cleaner industries, and improved air quality monitoring. The initiative will also create thousands of jobs, with a strong focus on employment opportunities for women. India and the World Bank signed…
