New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- The latest round of the UN conference on climate change will begin later this month in the Brazilian city of Belem. The rest of the world has to push ahead with the task of dealing with the crisis even as the US has defected from its previous international commitments.

There is much to be worried about. However, there is also good news. Global renewable energy capacity-solar, wind, hydroelectric, bio-thermal and geothermal-keeps growing at a healthy pace, with an installed capacity of 4,250GW in 2024. It is still only a tenth of the total energy consumed by the world, but that ratio is rapidly rising, thanks to the falling costs of new technology.

In its World Energy Outlook 2024, the International Energy Agency (IE...