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Coal India is the country's largest employer. It even subsidizes the railways. Some 70% of the energy used by the 1.3 billion people here is generated from coal.

And while India is the third-largest polluter after China and the U.S., its energy needs over the next 20 years are set to rise faster than both. The sheer amount of development still to come, and the sheer number of people, means the nation's carbon emissions could skyrocket.

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ABC
PHOTO: ABC correspondent James Longman stands near an abandoned mine in eastern India. The smoke billowing from the ground is co2 filled vapor, pouring out of cracks in the ground.
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The depth of poverty here and the desperate need of so many of his people is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he'll only commit to net-zero by 2070.

Why, when it was the industrialized nations who started the problem, should India pay the price? The average Indian generates far less carbon than the average American. (By some estimates, it takes seven Indians to generate as much as just one American.) Some argue it's better to link an emissions target to a country's GDP -- a calculation more in line with a country's wealth. It seems a fair argument.

But there are political concerns. Like some in the U.S. whose political fortunes are tied to energy companies, Modi must weigh domestic policy interests in dealing with the pressure of foreign expectations. And the West, too, should be wary of applying too much pressure, and hindering the Indian development seen as a bulwark against China.

But India is also doing amazing things with green energy -- hitting targets some of the more-developed nations are falling behind on -- achieving its 30% renewables target. Modi said India will hit 50% by 2030.

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Alastair Grant/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents his national statement as part of the World Leaders' Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 1, 2021.
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The air pollution issue in Delhi has already forced the adoption of greener options: All public transport must either be natural gas or electric. Local politicians have just made electric the much more appealing option. There hasn't been some kind of climate crusade here, where the very poor have been berated for killing the climate.

I took a ride on an electric rickshaw, and for the driver, electric was a no-brainer -- cheaper than gas, much more convenient. He can concentrate on feeding his family, and Delhi's air pollution problem can be mitigated.

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1453734549373001728?s=20

Now, in many ways, if it's using the grid, electricity just moves the problem from the street to wherever the energy is generated -- and in India, that's mostly coal. The grid is badly in need of an upgrade -- part of the reason why India said it needs foreign cash injections.

India also needs a better plan for transition, having developed a lot of renewables but not yet clearly stating how they'll come to replace coal, rather than merely coexist. And watch that phrase \"installed capacity.\" It doesn't mean India -- or any country -- has a grid capable of using that capacity. It's a subtle but important difference between generating energy and making sure it's all used.

But changes are coming.

There's a massive investment here in hydrogen and wind energy, but it's solar that's really exciting.

One Sun, One World, One Grid -- which forms the slightly unappealing acronym OSOWOG -- is an initiative Modi unveiled at COP26. It's an idea to link 140 countries with a mega grid, harnessing the power of the sun, so when it's up in one country, it can meet the power needs of a country where the sun has set, or in my case, isn't shining. The thought that one day my home in London could be heated with the power of the Indian sun is rather magical.

There are a lot of challenges here. But India is a country where entrepreneurship and invention thrive. It's a country of incredible engineering and technological innovation.

It might be the world's third-largest polluter, but it's also got the world's third-largest number of billionaires. There's the money, energy and creativity here to do great things. You've just got to give 1.3 billion people a little time.

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