EPA’s Pruitt spreads lies about India’s climate commitment

Another day, another falsehood uttered by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt. Seriously, his misleading statements—see here, here, here, here, here, and here—are gushing like the Ganges River. Speaking of…Pruitt is accusing India of trying to extort trillions of dollars before it will fulfill its pledge to reduce its carbon pollution. "India didn't have to take any steps in the [Paris] agreement to reduce [carbon dioxide] emissions until they received $2.5 trillion in aid," Pruitt stated on Fox News. His accusation that India is demanding money before it will address climate change is dead wrong.

E&E News counters Pruitt’s claim by pointing out that India has committed to cutting its carbon emissions intensity by up to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, with an “ambitious” plan to replace 40 percent of its fossil fuel electricity with renewables. That transition from coal to primarily wind and hydropower—along with increased energy efficiency and electric vehicles—is already well under way and taking off faster than expected. As part of its Paris pledge, India estimated that it will cost $2.5 trillion to meet its climate goals, most of which would be financed from domestic sources.  Andrew Light, a distinguished senior fellow at the World Resources Institute's global climate program told E&E: "For anyone to claim that India is trying to shake down the world is complete nonsense." 

India has already become the world’s fourth-largest producer of wind energy and has announced plans to cancel a number of coal plants—putting itself on track to not only meet but also exceed its Paris carbon targets. India is well on the way toward honoring its climate commitment—unlike the United States, thanks to the Trump administration.