India's 65 GW Solar Sprint and Quebec's $13 Billion Carbon Market Anchor Climate Week NYC's Implementation Push

Climate Week NYC shifted the conversation from targets to action this year, with panelists and diplomats making the case that clean energy is now winning on economics, not just ambition. From India's explosive solar build-out to Quebec's carbon-market-funded industrial electrification, the session laid out a playbook for how governments and businesses are financing the transition — and why fossil fuel subsidies remain the biggest obstacle.

• India deployed 65 GW of solar in 18 months, matching what took 11 years previously, as blended finance unlocks massive private capital for storage
• Global fossil fuel subsidies hit $1.6 trillion in 2022; COFIS argues they drain budgets without reaching the most vulnerable and calls for direct cash transfers instead
• Quebec's carbon market has generated $13 billion since 2013, funding electrification from distilleries to sawmills while safeguarding jobs
• Political noise drowns out real progress, Polecat Intelligence finds, as growing corporate-academic R&D partnerships and CSO role evolution go unnoticed
• Subnational governments hold the implementation keys, with the Under2 Coalition — representing one-eighth of world GDP — showcasing electric bus deployments in Brazil and micro-e-mobility in South Africa

The basics: The Global Energy Alliance works across emerging markets to deploy clean energy systems, using blended finance to de-risk projects and attract private capital at scale.