to instantly read 150+ free stories & 250-word summaries of all our stories

Looming deadline

What it really takes to go green: A story in numbers

The clock is ticking for India (and everyone else) to switch to clean energy. But building a truly sustainable energy mix is anything but easy

27/04/19

Vivek Aithal

It's estimated that even a 60% reduction in global CO2 emissions by 2050 will most certainly still result in disaster—we need 85% of emissions cut

Thirty years may seem like a long time, and the Indian government, like many others, has announced ambitious-sounding renewable energy plans

But look closely, and the current energy policy is decidedly inadequate when you account for truly liveable standards of power consumption in the future

Here's a plan for switching to 100% clean energy—and it's incredibly difficult no matter how you look at it. Bonus: Play with the numbers yourself, it's all there

art-close-up-ecology-886521-1920x1234.jpg

Question: Can India shift entirely to sustainable energy? The short answer is yes. The long answer is what you’re here for.

The brilliant British physicist, mathematician and renewable energy advocate David MacKay has an excellent book called Sustainable Energy—Without the Hot Air (from which a significant chunk of the philosophy has been derived).

Read the full story. Create a free account.

Also read our exhaustive coverage about Future of Retail, Ride Sharing and Oyo

Or subscribe. Why? Let us explain.

Already Registered?

Related stories

More stories in /Commentary, /Science & /Weekend

See all in Business & Commentary

Want to read this story for free right now? Just

Read the full story instantly.
Just enter your email address.

Also read our exhaustive coverage about Future of Retail, Ride Sharing and Oyo

Or subscribe. Why? Let us explain.

Or

By registering, you will be signed-up for an account which gives you access to a free story published once a week and archives of all our free stories. You will also receive a daily newsletter sent to your inbox. To unsubscribe, please visit the profile section in your account.

What you get

Access all free stories

239+ archived free stories, and all upcoming ones too.

Paid story summaries

Read an exclusive 200 word summary for all our paid stories.

Daily Newsletters

Our world-renowned emails, in your inbox, every day.

Or get full access to all our stories

About subscriptions

Already Registered? Login

Questions?

What is The Ken?

The Ken is a subscription-driven media site. We write one story a day (weekdays only). These stories have sharp, original insights on technology, business, science and healthcare from India.

Why do I have to sign up to read your stories?

Our stories are not free. Well, some select stories are. But, a significant part of what we write at The Ken is for subscribers only. We put in a lot of effort and resources in writing our stories and believe that you must pay for good journalism.
Hence, our three plans. 1) The annual membership
2) The free sign up
3) The recurring quarterly subscription

On journalism and why you should pay for it, if you haven’t already seen it, here’s a great explainer from John Oliver.

So, one must pay for journalism?

Yes.

How many stories will I get if I take an annual membership?

893+ stories.

And, in the free sign up?

Four stories every month.

Do I get a refund?

We allow you to sample our journalism for free before signing up, and after you do, we stand by its quality. But we do not offer refunds.

I am not getting my daily emails. Do I have to whitelist emails from The Ken?

An added benefit of your subscription (free/paid) are the daily personalised emails. These emails, at times, might end up in your spam/junk folder due to emojis, attachments or images. In case you’re not receiving these emails, it might help to whitelist us. If the problem still persists, write to us at [email protected].

Why am I unable to access the archives?

Full and unrestricted access to our archives is a feature of our annual membership.

My payment is not going through, what can I do?

Please write to us at [email protected] detailing the payment error or queries.

See all FAQs

    See all results for Ken

    No results found for Ken.