Progress on India’s Climate Targets | 26 Jul 2025

Source: IE

Why in News? 

India has made remarkable progress on its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement 2015, achieving one of its major targets five years ahead of schedule and nearing completion on the other two.  

What is the Status of India’s Climate Commitments? 

• Non-Fossil Fuel Capacity: India achieved its non-fossil fuel capacity target in 2024—five years ahead of schedule (2030)—with 242.78 GW (around 50%) of its 484.82 GW total installed capacity from non-fossil sources (solar, wind, hydro, nuclear).  
• Carbon Sink: India had pledged to create an additional 2.5–3 billion tonnes of carbon sink through forests and tree cover.  
  • By 2021, it had already achieved 2.29 billion tonnes, and with a yearly increase of around 150 million tonnes (2017–2021), the total likely crossed 2.5 billion tonnes by 2023. 
• Emissions Intensity: India pledged to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, and had already achieved a 36% reduction by 2020.  
  • Despite limited recent data, current trends suggest India is on track to comfortably meet or exceed this target. 

What Concerns are Associated with India’s Climate Targets? 

• Capacity vs Generation Gap: India achieved 50% non-fossil installed capacity in 2024, but only 28% of electricity generated comes from non-fossil sources.  
  • Moreover, just approx 6% of total energy consumption is clean, as fossil fuels still dominate sectors like industry, transport, and households. 
• Heavy Reliance on Solar Energy: In 2024, India set a record by installing 30 GW of renewable energy, with solar alone contributing nearly 24 GW.  
  • However, wind, hydro, and nuclear sectors continue to grow at a sluggish pace due to land acquisition issues, policy delays, and financial hurdles, while China is scaling up renewables ten times faster (in the past 2 years). 
  • India’s nuclear capacity is expected to reach just 17 GW by 2030 against 100 GW target by 2047(the Union Budget 2025-26). 
• Sustainability Concerns on Carbon Sink: Concerns persist about the share of natural forests vs monoculture plantations, their ecological impact, and whether gains can be maintained amid urbanisation and land use pressures. 
• Emissions Intensity Reduction: The lack of reliable emissions data after 2020 hampers efforts to monitor progress and adjust policies in real time.  
  • Despite being on track to meet intensity targets, continued fossil fuel dependence in key sectors could lead to rising absolute emissions without a clear roadmap for hard-to-abate industries (e.g., steel, cement). 
• Climate Finance Shortfalls: India has repeatedly flagged the shortfall in climate finance and technology transfer from developed nations, despite their Paris  Agreement commitments.  
  • Many wealthy countries have missed emission reduction targets and under-delivered on the USD 100 billion annual climate finance pledge. 

What Steps can be Taken to Further India’s Climate Target Goals? 

• Bridging Capacity-Generation Gap: India must scale up battery storage technologies like lithium-ion, and sodium-ion batteries to handle solar and wind intermittency.  
  • Additionally, modernizing transmission networks and deploying smart grids with demand-response systems is crucial for efficient renewable integration and supply-demand balancing. 
• Diversifying Beyond Solar: India should fast-track wind and hydro projects by easing land and clearance hurdles and reviving stalled hydropower through better financing and community support.  
  • It must boost nuclear energy and promote offshore wind and green hydrogen via targeted subsidies. 
• Sustainable Carbon Sink Growth: Use satellite technologies like Geographical Information System (GIS) and remote sensing to monitor deforestation and afforestation, while promoting mixed native species over monoculture for better carbon sequestration.  
  • Expand agroforestry and urban green cover (e.g., Miyawaki forests) and strictly penalize illegal mining and forest encroachments. 
• Securing Climate Finance:  India should advocate for developed countries to fulfill their commitment to providing USD 300 billion annually by 2035 in climate finance for developing nations, as agreed at UNFCCC COP29 in Baku, and stress the importance of prioritizing grants over loans for clean energy projects. 
  • Simultaneously, it must attract private and foreign investment through incentives, while boosting indigenous R&D and international tech collaborations in clean technologies. 

Conclusion 

India has made significant progress on its climate targets, achieving key milestones ahead of schedule. However, structural challenges in generation, sectoral emissions, finance, and forest sustainability persist. Addressing these will require robust policy action, financial support, and technological innovation to ensure long-term climate resilience and equitable energy transition.