At the historic Paris Agreement in 2015, India promised that by 2030, 40 per cent of its power capacity would come from non-fossil sources. It got there in 2021, nine years early. It also pledged to cut the emissions intensity of its economy, the carbon emitted per rupee of GDP, by 33-35 per cent from 2005 levels. It met that goal too, with a decade to spare. In 2022, it raised the bar to 50 per cent clean energy capacity, clearing it in 2025, five years ahead of schedule. Few major economies can boast of a record of consistently hitting climate targets. The problem with India is, the government’s pledges ask little more than what the country is already on track to do.

India is gaming a system that only works if countries push themselves. With the Hormuz crisis sending oil back above $100 a barrel, and ahead of COP31, which opens in Antalya on November 9, it’s time for India to set ambitious climate targets and deliver on them — because this is now the cheaper, safer path for India itself.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the pledges at the heart of the Paris Agreement, are supposed to be ambitious national goals aimed at reducing GHG emissions. However, India’s targets have routinely been weak and not aligned with the aim of staying below 1.5 °C.

March’s pledge raises similar concerns about scope and ambition, despite an incremental increase in targets. India now promises 60 per cent clean energy capacity by 2035, despite already reaching nearly 53 per cent in February. It also promises to cut emissions intensity by 47 per cent by 2035, a tiny........

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