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An Indian Green Deal

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  • Azad, Rohit
  • Chakraborty, Shouvik

Abstract

The Indian economy is facing a crisis at three different levels — health, economic and climate-change related. This ongoing crisis has given India an opportunity to change the course of development, a model where people, not profits, form the core. Based on the Indian economy’s employment-generating capacity, we propose an Indian Green Deal (IGD) that generates jobs and fundamentally alters the carbon footprint of the economy. The programme is divided into three components – care economy, infrastructure, and green energy transition – to address the triple crises, respectively. We show that for the same amount spent, 3.5 jobs will be generated in green energy programme compared to one job in the fossil fuel sector. If the amount promised under the Covid package of the Indian government are spent on IGD, it would generate 22.7 million jobs every year. It also provides disaggregated evidence on the quality of jobs as well as gender and caste representation. As for financing, there are two ways in which it can be financed — an international carbon fund and/or domestic sources. An IGD, financed through these sources, addresses both the questions of the climate crisis and climate injustice in one go.

Suggested Citation

  • Azad, Rohit & Chakraborty, Shouvik, 2023. "An Indian Green Deal," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:209:y:2023:i:c:s0921800923000939
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107830
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Piers M. Forster & Harriet I. Forster & Mat J. Evans & Matthew J. Gidden & Chris D. Jones & Christoph A. Keller & Robin D. Lamboll & Corinne Le Quéré & Joeri Rogelj & Deborah Rosen & Carl-Friedrich Sc, 2020. "Current and future global climate impacts resulting from COVID-19," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(10), pages 913-919, October.
    2. Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(11), pages 931-938, November.
    3. Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-04157767, HAL.
    4. Azad, Rohit & Chakraborty, Shouvik, 2020. "Green Growth and the Right to Energy in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Cameron Hepburn & Brian O’Callaghan & Nicholas Stern & Joseph Stiglitz & Dimitri Zenghelis, 2020. "Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 359-381.
    6. Rohit Azad & Shouvik Chakraborty, 2021. "Toward inverting environmental injustice in Delhi," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(2), pages 209-229, June.
    7. Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019," Post-Print halshs-04157767, HAL.
    8. Diesendorf, Mark & Elliston, Ben, 2018. "The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: A response to critics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 318-330.
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