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ASIA:
China will invest more in coal to power its economy over the next five years, according to a government plan released Friday (Mar 5) that only modestly increased renewable ambitions. Environmentalists had been hoping China’s five-year national development plan, unveiled at its annual parliamentary session would give a roadmap for its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. The blueprint sets a target of generating just 20 percent of energy from non-fossil fuels by 2025, up from 15.9 percent in 2020.
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), announced last week that the central bank plans to launch its own digital currency and the work with respect to the same is in progress. India’s central bank governor Shaktikanta Das said that the move comes after there have been “major concerns” about cryptocurrencies, flagging potential risks caused by cryptocurrencies to financial stability. Das also said that he had communicated his concerns to the government. A government panel in 2019 had recommended banning all private cryptocurrencies with a jail term of up to 10 years and heavy fines for anyone dealing in digital currencies. RBI also told lenders in 2018 that they could not offer any banking services to any cryptocurrency traders or exchanges, but the order was challenged in court and eventually reversed by the Supreme Court.