“As a young boy growing up in rural India with frequent power cuts, I never imagined that India would one day be able to announce a plan to supply electricity to all rural homes. But the tide has been changing ever since the 1990s when India embarked on economic liberalization.”

“India’s budget makes clear that the world’s largest democracy and one of its largest consumers of fossil fuels has openly declared its intent to promote the utilization of fossil fuel resources.”

The Indian government announced in early July that it will strive to ensure adequate housing, together with access to reliable electricity and clean cooking facilities, for all families in rural India by 2022.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that the goal was 100 percent electrification of all rural households—a critical need where people still die from indoor air pollution from primitive firewood-based cooking.…

Thirteen of the world’s 20 least electrified countries are in Africa. Around 630 million people live without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.

“What will help Africa defeat energy poverty: glorified renewables or time-tested, dense, reliable conventional energies?”

The African energy renaissance never happened. Most of the continent is still in the dark and far behind the rest of the world in energy production.

Now, the challenges faced by Africa’s energy sector have only been complicated by European interests in climate policy-driven renewable energy.

What will help Africa defeat energy poverty: glorified renewables or time-tested, dense, reliable conventional energies?

African Energy Situation

Africans are very nearly 1/6^th of the world’s people, but they consume just 1/30^th of the world’s primary energy. Thirteen of the world’s 20 least electrified countries are in Africa.…

The Paris agreement’s nosedive has been expedited by the growing skepticism about man-made global warming.

However, the most significant threat to the agreement has come from countries that refuse to quench their addiction to coal.  Among them is the largest consumer of coal: China.

China’s continued defiance of the anti-coal establishment has dealt a lethal blow to the future prospects of the Paris agreement. Here are some key indicators from China which suggest that the chance of a comeback for the Paris agreement is slim to none.

China’s Significance to the Paris Agreement

The Paris agreement is the United Nations’ flagship climate agreement that originally came into effect in 2015. Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the agreement served as the first blow to the agreement.…

The statement from India and other nations is clear: “This is no country for radical environmentalism.” And it is not just India. China has always maintained its sovereign rights for development, and the new Brazilian government is moving towards reclaiming its energy independence.

Mark Scialla, a freelance journalist based in the United States, was deported from India two weeks ago for reportedly documenting a controversial case surrounding the operations of a copper smelting factory.

So why are countries like India becoming increasingly wary of foreign elements and their growing involvement in domestic developmental issues?

The news of the journalist’s deportation did not come as a surprise to many here in India, as we are aware of our government’s intention to weed out foreign nonprofits and journalists who seek to sabotage developmental projects.…