Al Jazeera :
India, one of the world’s top emitters of greenhouse gases, faces a big problem: High population growth is driving industrialisation and urbanisation, creating more demand for fossil fuels, especially in the housing and transportation sectors.
In May, India received $1.5bn in financing for electric vehicles from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a mechanism created by the United Nations in 2010 to help developing countries transition and adapt to the climate crisis. According to the GCF, the funding will help India avoid 9.5 million tonnes of emissions. Instead of meeting the increased transportation demand with fossil fuels, India will use that funding to jump directly to renewables.
“It’s not just about transition, it’s about leapfrogging into renewable energy systems,” Harjeet Singh, a senior advisor at the Climate Action Network International, told Al Jazeera.
Developing countries such as India are entering an era of rapid industrialisation at the precise moment when the world needs to stop burning fossil fuels.
