India’s progress on its climate targets, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• India achieved a 36% reduction in emissions intensity by 2020, surpassing its initial Paris Agreement target.
• Non-fossil fuel capacity reached 51.4% of total installed capacity by June 2025, driven by solar energy expansion.
• India has sequestered 30.43 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, exceeding the 2005 level by 2.29 billion tonnes.
• Renewable energy sources supplied approximately 22% of electricity in 2024-25, despite comprising over 50% of non-fossil capacity.

Detailed Insights:

• India's GDP emissions intensity decreased due to the expansion of non-fossil power, a shift towards lower-carbon sectors, and national efficiency programs.
• Despite intensity gains, India's absolute greenhouse gas emissions remain high, with 2,959 MtCO₂e in 2020, due to GDP growth outpacing emissions reduction.
• While renewable capacity has increased significantly, electricity generation is limited by lower capacity factors, storage shortfalls, and the continued reliance on coal baseload.
• The 175 GW renewables target for 2022 was missed, and achieving the 500 GW 2030 ambition requires rapid scaling of storage and transmission upgrades.
• Although India's forest cover appears to be increasing, the definition includes plantations, and climate change impacts like warming and water stress challenge carbon assimilation.
• The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (2016) has accumulated approximately ₹95,000 crore, but implementation is unequal across states.
• Addressing storage bottlenecks, developing a coal transition roadmap, reforming forest governance, and increasing data transparency are crucial for future climate action.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Emissions Intensity: Greenhouse gases emitted per unit of economic output.
• Carbon Sequestration: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• Non-fossil Capacity: Power generation capacity from sources other than fossil fuels, such as solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear.