Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment and Ecology, Topic: Indian Initiatives, Efforts and Commitments, Issue: India’s Climate Achievement in 2025.
Context:
India has made measurable progress on climate commitments, particularly in reducing emissions intensity and expanding non-fossil fuel power capacity, but absolute emissions continue to rise, raising concerns about long-term sustainability.
Key Takeaways:
| Background & Commitments: India’s climate pledges stem from the Paris Agreement, based on common but differentiated responsibilities. Key commitments (2005 baseline): 33–35% reduction in emissions intensity by 2030 40% (later 50%) non-fossil fuel power capacity 175 GW renewables (missed for 2022); 500 GW target for 2030 2.5–3 billion tonnes carbon sink through forests. |
Major Achievements:
- Emissions intensity reduced ~36% by 2020, achieving the 2030 target a decade early.
- Non-fossil capacity expanded rapidly: Crossed ~43% by 2023, Around 50% of installed capacity by mid-2025
- Drivers of success:
- Renewable energy expansion (solar, wind, hydro, nuclear)
- Structural shift towards services and digital economy
- Efficiency schemes like PAT and UJALA, reducing electricity demand and emissions
Incomplete Decoupling Problem:
- Despite intensity reduction, absolute emissions remain high: 2.96 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2020
- Reason: Partial decoupling
- GDP growth > emissions growth
- Intensity falls, but total emissions do not
- Sectoral divergence:
- Power sector emissions moderated
- Cement, steel, and transport emissions continue to rise
Renewable Capacity vs Generation Gap:
- Installed capacity ≠ actual electricity generation:
- >50% non-fossil capacity
- Only ~22% share in electricity generation (2024–25)
- Causes: Low-capacity factors of solar and wind, Intermittency, Weak grid integration
- Coal reality: 253–240 GW coal capacity remains.
- Over 70% of electricity still coal-based
Storage & Grid Bottlenecks:
- Storage is the key constraint:
- Projected need: 336 GWh by 2029–30
- Actual battery storage (Sept 2025): 500 MWh
- Transmission delays, land acquisition issues, and state-level regulatory hurdles persist.
Forest Carbon Sink: Numbers vs Ecology:
- Official data (India State of Forest Report 2023): 30.43 billion tonnes CO₂ stock and Only 0.2 billion tonnes short of 2030 target.
- Concerns:
- Broad definition of “forest cover” includes plantations, monocultures, roadside trees
- Plantation-driven carbon accounting prioritises numbers over biodiversity
- Minimal increase in actual forest cover (156 sq km between 2021–23)
Governance & Implementation Gaps:
- CAMPA funds: ₹1.95 lakh crore accumulated, Poor utilisation by states (e.g., Delhi 23%)
- Green India Mission (Revised, 2025):
- Targets 5 million hectares regeneration
- Equates plantations with natural regeneration
- Climate stress (heat, water scarcity) undermines forest carbon absorption capacity.
The Road Ahead: Shift focus from headline metrics to real outcomes:
- Translate intensity gains into absolute emissions reduction
- Develop a clear coal phase-down roadmap
- Rapidly scale battery storage and grid infrastructure
- Reform forest governance for ecological quality, not just carbon numbers
- Improve climate data transparency across sectors and regions
India has largely met its climate targets in form, but the real challenge is translating renewable capacity into reliable power, reducing absolute emissions, and ensuring meaningful ecological outcomes rather than symbolic compliance.
Source: (The Hindu)
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