With the recent release of NITI Aayog's comprehensive net-zero pathway reports, there has been renewed interest in India's decarbonisation trajectory. The 11-report series, informed by ten inter-ministerial working groups, charts India's path to net zero by 2070 while achieving Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047. The findings are striking: India's economy can grow eleven-fold while energy demand increases only 2.1 to 2.6 times, driven by electrification, energy efficiency, and circularity. This "development-first" framework validates what India has been demonstrating on the ground—that development and decarbonisation need not be contradictory goals.
India is notably one of the last major economies yet to publicly announce its updated 2035 climate goals under the Paris Climate Agreement. However, India’s climate leadership cannot be measured solely by ambitious pledges and targets. As a country that is neither rich yet, nor small, India’s climate narrative is inherently more complex than that of wealthy nations or smaller economies. Wealthier countries have the means, and smaller countries, with the right financial and technical support, can pivot quickly. While global goals are important, numbers cannot fully capture a fundamentally different development paradigm: India must deliver development and decarbonisation simultaneously and at scale, a task that is not only unprecedented in complexity but one that also has a profound impact on the global response to the climate crisis. Thus far, India's climate leadership has been rooted in demonstrable action across four concrete pillars – renewable energy revolution, large-scale climate adaptation, sub-national action, and global collaboration.
India has built one of the world's fastest-growing renewable energy programs and is transitioning away from fossil fuels at a rate even faster than China at a comparable stage of development. According to Ember's analysis, published in January 2026, India is generating more solar electricity, burning far fewer fossil fuels, and electrifying transport faster than China did at an equivalent GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP). In India, solar reached 5 per cent of total generation at around $9,000 GDP per capita (PPP); in China, it took until about $23,000 GDP per capita (PPP) to reach that level.
This is not accidental; it reflects the late-bloomer advantage that India has actively leveraged. When India began scaling its energy and mobility infrastructure, technology was sufficiently well-advanced, and India itself played a meaningful role in driving the costs down through strategic policy setting. The result is genuinely unprecedented. No major economy at this stage of development, with this per capita income level, has demonstrated a lesser degree of fossil fuel dependence while sustaining this pace of economic growth.
Being home to the largest number of people vulnerable to climate impacts, India has also rapidly advanced climate adaptation and resilience measures. Cities and states across the country have developed early warning systems, action plans, and risk mitigation mechanisms that integrate climate resilience into development priorities. Beyond domestic action, India has emerged as a pivotal force in climate institution-building. Initiatives led by India, like the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, are expanding access to clean energy and improving resilience for some of the world's most vulnerable nations, sending the message that countries need not face the climate crisis alone.
India’s climate story is being written simultaneously at the subnational level, where states and cities are emerging as genuine engines of climate action — sometimes ahead of national policy. Indian states, comparable to many other developing nations, are writing new globally replicable development templates. Recent climate convenings—Mumbai Climate Week, the Tamil Nadu Climate Summit, and Delhi Climate Innovation Week—signal a deepening subnational architecture for climate engagement that deserves far greater recognition in global assessments of India's progress. Together, they illustrate that India's climate federalism, while still uneven and in need of stronger institutional coordination, is beginning to function as a force multiplier for national goals.
India’s decarbonisation trajectory cannot be a replica of the West. The transition needs to be just, inclusive, planned, equitable, and cognizant of ground realities, and India’s climate lens is tuned to recognise these development contexts, complexities, and constraints. On various international platforms, India has repeatedly reiterated that climate finance cannot be interpreted as goodwill but should be recognised as the legal responsibility anchored in the foundation of the Paris Agreement. India has also advocated for tripling adaptation finance and defining clear Global Goal on Adaptation indicators—demanding accountability in a system that has been long on promises but short on delivery. India has also pressed for revising UNFCCC processes to make them faster, more transparent, and genuinely responsive to the needs of vulnerable nations on the ground. India is also charting its own course, its stewardship reflected in building new models of sustainable development at scale.
The question then remains—what demonstrates climate leadership? Major economies like the EU, the UK, and China have announced their 2035 emission reduction targets—some more motivated than others. Yet, while every country needs impressive climate goals, ambitions are not achievements. Much like India, the world is not a homogeneous place; different nations face vastly different contexts, complexities, and constraints. True climate leadership means closing the gap between commitment and action, building institutions of genuine solidarity, and ensuring solutions work for the most vulnerable, not just the most privileged. By that measure, India is already emerging as a leader.
This article is authored by Sameer Kwatra, senior director, India Programme at Natural Resources Defence Council and Charu Lata, director, Climate and Clean Energy, NRDC, India.