After attending COP30, the United Nations climate summit at the Brazilian city of Belem, India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav declared on November 30 that the summit was “a significant milestone in advancing equity and climate justice.” He added that India had “achieved all its major goals at the global negotiations and its positions are reflected in all major decisions.” 

Despite this self-congratulatory message and India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory. Some impressive achievements sit alongside major loopholes in India’s climate policy and practice. As the Global South struggles to convince the developed world to play its part in climate financing, India has to do more to chart out a clear roadmap for reducing carbon footprints. 

India met its renewable targets five years early. Government data released in July 2025 showed that installed electricity capacity had reached 484.82 GW at the end of June, of which 242.78 GW was contributed by sources such as large hydropower, nuclear, and renewable energies like wind and solar. 

Reaching a 50 percent share of non-fossil sources in installed electricity capacity was one of the three climate targets India had set for itself for 2030. The other two promises were reducing its emissions intensity, or emissions........

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