Gautam Adani sees 'all talk, no action' on climate change; hopes for more from COP26

In the backdrop of the ongoing 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the founder, and chairman of Adani Industries, Gautam Adani said that the world doesn't need 'lectures' but 'conversations' at the climate summit. In his opinion piece published in Nikkei Asia, the Indian business tycoon also slammed the outcry for coal shortage on social media along with the 'climate change activists' who demand a complete boycott of thermal power generation. 

Adani confronts activists for their outcry over coal shortage

Confronting the outcry of climate change activists in India over coal shortages, Adani said that some demand a complete halt over thermal power generation while they never consider discussing an alternative for balancing the energy needs of the people along with fighting climate change. In the published opinion piece, he even slammed those who drag corporations like Adani Group and argue that countries falling into darkness is a less pressing issue. 

Currently, there is a coal crunch throughout the globe owing to the demand that skyrocketed after economies started to get back on their feet. In India itself, the demand for power hiked by 20% but at the same time, there remains a 40% fall in coal imports owing to soaring international prices. This fluctuation is being accredited to the post-pandemic surge in demand for power which was intensified by lower-than-usual stocks of domestically produced coal due to heavy monsoon. 

Adani also addressed the role of social media and mainstream media in fanning the chaos over the energy crisis opining that none of them took the responsibility of curbing the spread of fake news. Doubling down on his opinion, he said-

Instead of a constructive public dialogue, we were mired in squabbling, our ability to argue in good faith constrained by the need to make our points in 280 characters. A large part of the mainstream media chose to cover the invective being swapped on social media, thereby showcasing that the speed of news distribution had clearly overtaken the quality of research and content.

'World leaders will find it difficult to reach binding agreements': Adani

In regards to the COP26 climate summit, the business tycoon in his opinion piece said that the world leaders will not be able to reach a binding agreement over handling the climate crisis as the summit is all about 'broad statements' about transformative emissions reductions but specified plans for achieving the targets. 

According to Adani, this applies to even the strongest global economies as they also are unable to satiate their need for energy-using 'green sources'. He further added:

Being lectured to about our emissions -- fewer per capita than the global average and historically negligible -- while developed economies continue to fail to meet their pledge to even provide $100 billion per year to help the world transition to green technologies is, to say the least, ironic.

Answering if his conglomerate has taken steps toward becoming net-zero, Adani informed that his company has 70% of its energy-related capital expenditure in green technologies. Taking a jibe over the rich countries, he said that this percentage will amount to $50 billion to $70 billion of investment towards renewable energy for the forthcoming decade. 

Our investments in renewable energies are being made with a view to producing the world's cheapest green electricity within the next decade. We hope to make the production of green hydrogen so inexpensive that we can help India become a net exporter of green energy rather than an importer of fossil fuels.

(Image: PTI)