Notoriously complex global energy issues encompass science, economics, politics, the environment, demographics and social dynamics. And sometimes it seems nothing is more complicated than charting a course that effectively mitigates the worst impacts of climate change. One of the most stubborn problems is finding a way to simultaneously address energy poverty while reducing global carbon dioxide emissions.

Hot on the heels of climate excitement that came when China announced plans to tackle its emissions situation comes an article reminding the world of India’s potential role as climate spoiler. For those who follow energy and environment issues closely this is not new, but a painful reminder of just how daunting a challenge it is to reign in emissions on a global scale.

Read more Breaking Energy coverage of this issue here and here.

Within India’s borders is an entire United States’ population without access to electricity and all the human development indicator improvements that power brings. On a global scale, the Indian population does not have a lot of money, but they do have coal. The government has announced aggressive renewable energy development plans, but they also recognize the importance of coal in electrifying their population.

“India’s development imperatives cannot be sacrificed at the altar of potential climate changes many years in the future,” India’s power minister, Piyush Goyal, said at a recent conference in New Delhi in response to a question. “The West will have to recognize we have the needs of the poor.” – New York Times

And as energy analyst Robert Bryce recently wrote, 9 countries are collectively about to build roughly 550 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity over the next two and a half decades. If climate change is the most severe existential threat of our time, then combatting it while bringing billions of people out of energy poverty is surely one of our most perplexing dilemmas.