At the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29), India voiced its disappointment at the climate finance announcement of $300 billion annually under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), and rightly so. This goal was

At the recently concluded 29th Conference of the Parties or COP29, several critical issues were discussed. Nuclear energy was also a key topic, following the COP28 commitment by 22 countries to triple nuclear capacity by 2050. This year saw more countries entering the above commitment, taking the total count to 31, while the discussions mostly delved into the details of advancing nuclear energy, emphasising strategies for attracting investments, strengthening cross-border partnerships and identifying ways to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) for energy-intensive sectors.

After hours of intense negotiations, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended with a climate finance goal where developed countries are to provide $300 billion annually by 2035. However, this is far from what the developing countries need, and once again brings global climate gridlock into the spotlight.

COP29, the conference touted as the "finance COP," concluded recently in Baku and has shown promise and oversight in its treatment of nature within the climate agenda. The latest estimate of required financing stands at a staggering $1.3 trillion, a sharp contrast to the mere $300 billion pledged under the New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG), which remains contentious among many parties, especially the Global South. Moreover, the need, and therefore the estimates, keep increasing year-on-year with minimal mobilisation towards achieving these goals.

Every year, climate action draws significant attention in the months leading up to the United Nations’ annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COPs). But the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election will likely have a greater impact on the planet’s climate future than COP29 itself, illustrating an important challenge in combating climate change: operationalising global cooperation towards a common cause even when national interests don’t align with it.

The 2019 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme aims to enhance energy security for farmers, while promoting the use of renewable energy (RE) in the agriculture sector. Of its three components, Component A focuses on the installation of decentralised grid-connected RE-based power plants, with capacities ranging from 500 kW to 2 MW, by farmers on their land. The component can provide an additional, stable stream of income to farmers through the provision of selling the excess electricity generated to the grid.

The Government of India has set ambitious goals to ramp up a range of clean technologies by 2030 to increase energy independence, security, and access while promoting industrial development and reducing air pollution and GHG emissions. To deliver on these goals, the government has introduced a suite of financial and non-financial support measures. But will these measures be sufficient to reach the goals in full and on time?

Industry leaders pioneering the use of hydrogen to decarbonise the steel industry met on Monday in Delhi to discuss its potential and challenges. The event was organised by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a science and technology-based think tank, to launch its report Advanced Process Simulation Modelling for Hydrogen Application in Steel and Cement – A Technical and Economic Assessment.