The UN Secretary General António Guterres’s call for India to give up coal immediately and reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 is a call to de-industrialise the country and abandon the population to a permanent low-development trap.

At the latest count by the non-profit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), at the beginning of April, 32 countries had declared, in some documented form , their proposed intention to achieve carbon neutral status by mid-century or thereabouts. Of these, only eight have any firm status, the rest being in the form of proposed legislation or mentions in policy documents.

What has become clear since the lockdown began is that state governments have taken the lead in the absence of a clear plan by the Centre, which seems to be on the lookout for more political capital, as usual.
Modi govt lacks strategic vision in fight against COVID-19

As India enters day 17 of a nation-wide lockdown that began on March 25, three aspects of the Government of India's approach to dealing with the COVID-19 crisis has become increasingly clear.

In contrast to its neighbours, the TN government has failed to invest in public action, instead insisting on channelling all its efforts through the bureaucracy.
Failing to Flatten the Curve: How Tamil Nadu
The Sathankulam custodial deaths, which happened as a result of extreme lockdown policing, are the tip of the iceberg of a COVID-19 crisis that is beginning to engulf Tamil Nadu. New infections are steadily on the rise, as is a death toll, the numbers of which have clearly been underplayed.

THE SUN HAS JUST STARTED TO RISE as Mrs. Malarkodi walks down the main road of Semmedu, a small but lively village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She stops in front of a narrow shop wedged in amongst the other crowded, colorful businesses that spill out onto the dusty sidewalk. The sound of honking horns and the aroma of fresh spices permeate the air, but Malarkodi hardly notices them as she unlocks and lifts the metal shutter, removes her shoes, and passes under the mango leaves that hang over the Kolli Hills Natural Food Shop’s entryway as a symbol of good luck.