India Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

India's capital recorded an all-time high temperature of more than 52 C on Wednesday, according to the India Meteorological Department. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in India.

With an unusually brutal heat wave scorching parts of India for weeks, acute power shortages have affected the health and livelihoods of millions of people and hurt economic activity.

The situation sparked scrutiny over India's power supply shortfalls, underscoring the importance of integrating low-carbon production and emissions reduction into the development of the country's manufacturing sector.

India is reportedly the world's second-largest producer and consumer of coal, which produces more than 70 percent of the country's electricity. Over the years, the Indian government has been trying to boost domestic coal output so as to reduce its dependence on coal imports. In fiscal year 2024, India produced a record 1.04 billion tons of coal and lignite, up 10.97 percent year-on-year and a record high.

However, the frequent heat wave hitting India has still driven an increase in its coal imports. In the first quarter of this year, India's thermal coal imports stood at 42.79 million tons, up 23.8 percent year-on-year, according to media reports. It is because of an over-reliance on coal for power generation that power supply crises caused by coal shortages have not been uncommon for India over the years.

Furthermore, as climate change worsens heat waves and India's manufacturing sector continues to grow, the demand for electricity is projected to increase.

This will result in more power shortages, underscoring the pressing need of the country to diversify its energy sources by transitioning toward renewable energy.

By comparison, China has already made remarkable progress in improving its energy mix. There is no denying that coal power remains the main source of electricity supply in China, but the proportion of coal-fired power in China's energy mix has declined significantly. 

Meanwhile, China's installed renewable energy capacity surpassed its thermal power capacity for the first time in 2023 and China accounted for more than half of newly installed renewable energy capacity worldwide.

While India may not walk the same path as China did in developing electric vehicles and the manufacturing sector, when it comes to tackling the common challenge of global climate change, India can still learn from China's experience in living up to its emissions reduction commitments through infrastructure development. This is because low-carbon production and emissions reductions should still be vital components of India's manufacturing development in the long term.

If anything, low-carbon production and the green energy transition are not only commitments to the international society, but also key to India's sustainable development in terms of both its energy security and environmental protection.

To achieve the goal of transitioning toward a greener economy, the transformation of India's infrastructure, particularly its energy infrastructure, is crucial. These measures may involve significant investments in renewable energy projects such as solar, wind and hydropower to increase the proportion of clean energy sources in the energy mix.

Also, it is essential for India to cooperate with other countries, especially China, on low-carbon production. 

In the face of the common challenge for the sustainable development of the manufacturing sectors of both countries, there is increasing room for green collaboration between China and India. For instance, China has the world's largest photovoltaic power generation capacity. It also has rich experience and technology in those fields - exactly what India needs as it transforms its energy infrastructure. Through technical cooperation, India can improve the efficiency and reliability of its power infrastructure.