India and China both declined to sign the pledge to quadruple the world's renewable energy capacity by 2030 at the COP28 climate summit on Saturday, despite the fact that New Delhi had already committed to it as part of its G20 presidency news agency PTI reported. 118 countries pledged to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 during the United Nations climate negotiations here. This ambitious objective attempts to minimise the world's overall energy production's dependency on fossil fuels.


Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Nigeria, and Barbados were among the countries who supported the pledge.


Despite their support for a threefold increase in renewable energy by 2030, China and India did not publicly embrace the complete promise on Saturday.


This commitment entails increasing clean energy while decreasing the use of fossil fuels.


The pledge asked for the continued use of coal power and the cessation of finance for new coal-fired power projects.


The term "unabated" fossil fuels refers to the ongoing usage of coal, oil, and gas without any measures to reduce emissions. Nonetheless, there is presently no commonly acknowledged and accurate meaning of this phrase.


According to the International Energy Agency, the world must treble renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency rates by 2030 in order to reduce demand for fossil fuels and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.


Indian academics have expressed varied feelings on India's choice.


Madhura Joshi, Senior Associate and India Energy Transition Lead at E3G, expressed dissatisfaction with India's decision not to sign the worldwide pledge aimed at tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030.


“These pivotal decisions were initially championed by the Indian G20 presidency and endorsed by G20 leaders in September 2023,” Joshi was quoted by PTI in its report.


Joshi emphasises the importance of shifting away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, in order to meet net-zero promises. Despite India's ambitious renewable energy aspirations of 450GW by 2030, the aim is that New Delhi would accept these global goals at COP28, capitalising on its leadership in the renewables industry.


Vibhuti Garg, Director of South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, highlights India's G20 commitment to triple the renewable energy target, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined at COP28 in Dubai.


While India has substantial renewable energy objectives, Garg underlined the country's silence on coal phase-out.


“Achieving India's renewable energy goals will necessitate a tripling of investments, prompting the country to advocate for additional funding support from the Global North through blended finance mechanisms, including multilateral development bank (MDB), green bonds, equity investors, and insurance and pension funds,” he added.


Ulka Kelkar, Executive Director of Climate at the World Resources Institute (WRI) India, emphasised the worldwide goal of doubling renewable energy capacity set during India's G20 presidency.


She emphasised the scale of India's National Determined Contributions (NDC) objective, which requires the country to create as much renewable power as the continent of South America now has.


Kelkar highlights the revolutionary influence on multiple sectors, including the ability to run cars, houses, cookstoves, and industries on cleaner electricity.


Furthermore, she sees energy efficiency as a critical component of the clean energy transition, capable of bringing substantial advantages, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.


The International Solar Alliance's Director General, Dr. Ajay Mathur, expressed joy with the worldwide commitment to doubling renewable capacity by 2030.


He underlined the combined advantages of promoting development and reducing climate change, underlining the importance of increasing renewables growth in order to achieve a successful transition to clean energy.