Speaking at the COP26 summit last year, Richa Sharma, leader of the Indian delegation, was quick to emphasise that India had a right to burn fossil fuels, telling delegates: “The meagre carbon budget is first and foremost the right and entitlement of developing countries.”
This emphasis on allocating the bulk of remaining “carbon space” to countries that have not yet reaped the benefits of years of fossil-fuelled economic growth is central to the climate justice movement. But all such good intentions are rapidly being overtaken by simple economics.
In 2009, coal was still an attractive option for countries looking for affordable energy, its average costs coming in well below renewables. But by 2020, both wind and solar had become far cheaper per unit of energy. In some markets, capital-intensive new installations even worked out cheaper than existing coal plants.