Transitioning from coal won’t be easy. India must ensure support for people and communities dependent on the sector

On March 3, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged wealthy nations to end coal use by 2030. On March 12, Jayant Sinha, former Minister of State for Finance, submitted a private bill to the Lok Sabha which urged the Indian government to commit to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. Subsequently, a torrent of analysis and reports about India committing to net zero emissions surfaced. If India really intends to announce an ambition for net zero, then as a country which uses coal for more than 70 per cent of its energy, it will face daunting challenges.

There are multiple pathways to achieve net-zero emissions, almost all of them require moving away from coal. Globally, the conversation on net-zero emissions has almost always come after or gone hand-in-hand with a coal phaseout plan.