After making great strides in promoting renewable energy, India is once again being singled out as a global climate laggard.
Its negotiators blocked agreement on tackling emissions at the Group of 20 meeting in Naples earlier this year, publishing an eye-catching dissent calling for the group to focus on bringing down high per-capita emissions in rich countries. India later skipped a ministerial meeting meant to prepare for the next global climate-change summit — the only one of 51 invitees to do so. Its leaders clearly resent pressure to set a date for reducing net carbon emissions to zero, as rival China has.
The West’s focus on India’s lack of a net-zero target, however, may be misplaced. It risks missing a potentially major shift under way in the country.