India must stop building coal infrastructure and focus on renewable power generation to aid the global fight against climate change and lift its citizens out of poverty, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
The nation, the biggest coal consumer after China, must invest in a “clean, green transition” as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, Guterres said at an event organised by New Delhi-based environment advocacy group TERI. It must also end fossil-fuel subsidies, which are about seven times as high as those for clean energy, he said.
The Group of 20 nations including India must place a price on carbon pollution and commit to no new coal after 2020, Guterres said. He said he was concerned to learn that G-20 nations allocated more resources to fossil fuels than clean energy for an economic recovery and that some countries were “doubling down on domestic coal and opening up coal auctions.” India plans to auction 41 coal mines later this year.