Why in news?
India announced that over half of its installed electricity capacity now comes from non‑fossil sources, achieving a key target of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement five years ahead of the 2030 deadline.
India’s climate commitments
- Installed capacity target: At least 50 % of total electricity capacity from non‑fossil fuel sources by 2030.
- Emission intensity: Reduce emissions per unit of GDP by 45 % from 2005 levels by 2030.
- Carbon sink: Create an additional 2.5 – 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through forest and tree cover.
Progress so far
- Electricity capacity: As of mid‑2025 India has installed about 484.8 GW of capacity, including 242.8 GW from non‑fossil sources (solar, wind, hydro and nuclear). Rapid growth in solar (111 GW) and wind (about 51 GW) drove the milestone.
- Carbon sinks: Forest surveys show an increase of roughly 150 million tonnes of carbon absorption each year. India added more than 2.29 billion tonnes of forest‑based carbon sink by 2021 and could meet its target by 2023 – 24 if trends continue.
- Emission intensity: Preliminary estimates indicate a 36 % reduction by 2020, suggesting India is on track to achieve a 45 % cut by 2030.
Reality check
While capacity numbers are encouraging, only about 28 % of the electricity actually generated comes from clean sources. The bulk of India’s energy consumption still relies on coal, oil and gas, especially in industry, transport and cooking. Electricity accounts for less than one‑quarter of total energy use. Thus greening the broader economy remains a challenge.
Challenges and way forward
- Intermittency: Solar and wind output fluctuate with weather and time of day. Investments in energy storage, grid balancing and base‑load sources like hydro and nuclear are necessary.
- Non‑power sectors: Decarbonising transport, heavy industry and households requires electric vehicles, green hydrogen, clean cooking fuels and stricter efficiency standards.
- Finance and technology: Concessional climate finance and technology transfer from developed countries remain limited. A domestic carbon market and innovative fiscal instruments could encourage investments.
- Policy consistency: Long‑term planning, including clear timelines for phasing out coal and scaling up renewables, is needed to provide certainty to investors and state governments.
Achieving the NDC targets early boosts India’s credibility at international climate negotiations. The bigger task now is to transform the entire energy landscape while ensuring energy access and affordability.