How Asia is crucial in the battle against climate change

MIHIR, A 25-YEAR-OLD who lives near the Indian city of Durgapur, has big plans. They all depend on coal. Every day, he rides his bicycle around collieries and depots gathering sacks of coal slipped to him by conniving workers or security guards. Once he has stacked the bike with as much as it can carry he pedals off to a brickworks or a small forge and sells all ten or 11 sacks. After the necessary bribes and kickbacks have been paid, Mihir makes enough not only to keep him, his mother and sister clothed and fed, but also to save for a motorbike. That will allow him to double the scale of his operation, which should provide enough money to build a second storey on the family’s tiny house. When that is done he will be able to propose to his sweetheart.