Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic: Indian initiatives, Issue: India’s climate leadership.
Context:
CoP-30 in Belém, Brazil, 2025 highlights urgency of climate action amidst accelerating global warming.
Key Highlights:
India’s climate leadership: India positions itself as a climate leader by embedding sustainability and innovation into its growth strategy.Carbon trading and market-based mechanisms are central to this vision.
India’s Climate Commitments:
- Net-zero target: 2070.
- Renewable energy goal: 500 GW capacity by 2030.
- India is amongst the most ambitious policies relative to national capacity as per the Climate Action Tracker, 2024.
- India aims to balance development priorities and climate responsibilities.
Carbon Market in India:
- Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) launched in June 2023:
- Aims at decarbonizing multiple sectors, not just power.
- Covers steel, cement, transport, agriculture.
- Industries can trade emission credits, incentivizing efficiency & decarbonization.
- It has potential to unlock $200 billion opportunity by 2030.
- Digitally Verified Carbon Offsets (DVCOs):
- Traditional monitoring = paper-heavy, error-prone, delayed.
- DVCOs leverage AI, blockchain, satellite imagery, remote sensing to verify reductions in real-time.
- Ensures transparency, integrity, and trustworthiness of carbon markets.
- Aligns with Paris Agreement’s Article 6 such as high-integrity offsets, transparency in climate finance.
Significance:
- Carbon markets help India prepare for global trade adjustments like EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
- Internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) can channel global climate finance into India.
- By 2035, as developing economies will require $1.3 trillion annually for climate goals, India well placed to push reforms.
Opportunities for India at CoP-30:
Domestic Benefits:
- Reduces emissions while ensuring economic growth.
- Empowers communities through decentralized climate projects.
- Builds a globally competitive low-carbon economy.
Global Climate Leadership:
- Transparent, citizen-centric carbon markets can make India a blueprint for equitable and fair climate action.
- Strengthening DVCOs and aligning with Article 6 reforms which boosts global credibility.
- India can shape the climate finance debate, moving beyond compliance to trusted climate governance.
Implications for India:
- Positions India as a rule-shaper, not rule-taker in global climate negotiations.
- Reduces dependency on Western-led climate finance.
- Aligns domestic carbon governance with global standards, boosting India’s export competitiveness.
- Strengthens India’s G20 climate presidency legacy and enhances strategic autonomy.
Conclusion:
By embracing technology-driven carbon markets, DVCOs, and equitable finance mechanisms, India can emerge as a credible climate leader at CoP-30 and beyond, ensuring its transition is transparent, just, and globally respected.
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