India, the world’s third-largest carbon emitter, has yet to submit its climate action plan – a delay that became a key talking point at the UN COP30 summit, which ended on Friday 21 November in Belem, Brazil.
India’s five-year requests, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), are meant to set more ambitious emission reduction targets. So far there have been 120 of the 196 member countries United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) presented their updated climate plans.
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The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to keep global warming well below 2°C and ideally to 1.5°C. According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), meeting these targets will require annual emissions to be reduced by 35% to 55% by 2035 compared to 2019 levels.
India is commonly regarded as the third largest producer of carbon dioxide (CO2), after China and the United States. However, some Indian officials argue that focusing only on total emissions misses this context. Its per capita emissions are relatively low – around 2 tons per person.
The formal deadline for submitting updated NDCs for the 2035 cycle was 10 February 2025. However, the UNFCCC allowed an extended deadline to September 2025.
When will India submit its climate action plan?
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadavwho led the Indian delegation in Belem, told the media this week that Delhi would present its update nationally determined contributions (NDC) by December.
India and Saudi Arabia are the only two G20 countries that have not yet released their updated NDCs for the COP30 summit. The NDC document sets out individual countries’ climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and is published every five years.
India is commonly regarded as the third largest producer of CO₂ (and greenhouse gases), after China and the United States. However, some Indian officials argue that focusing only on total emissions misses this context. Its per capita emissions are relatively low – around 2 tons per person(AP)
“We will announce our revised NDC till 2035 and also the first biennial transparency report,” Yadav said.
Asked why India had not submitted its updated NDC document, Yadav said it was not due to missing a deadline. “There are several steps, including cabinet approval, before the document is released,” he said.
India had in 2022 declared his first NDC—achieve the emissions intensity of its GDP (gross domestic product) by 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. The emissions intensity of GDP refers to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced per unit of GDP – a measure of how effectively an economy uses carbon-based resources to generate economic output.
A sign of displeasure, climate experts say
Experts say the delay may be a sign of India’s dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in financing global climate priorities.
The country is seen as a key player in global efforts to combat pollution and mitigate global warming, especially since US President Donald Trump’s administration has shied away from climate talks. But India has surprised observers as one of the few major countries to have yet sent its formal climate plan, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, to the United Nations, the AP news agency reported.
Non-fossil energy sources account for more than half of India’s energy capacity, which has met some of its climate targets for the decade ending in 2030, five years ahead of schedule, the agency said.
India’s lack of an official climate target was a big topic of discussion at COP30, Aarti Khosla, founder of climate consultancy Climate Trends, told the AP.
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While India has exceeded its previously set climate targets, Khosla said the failure to disclose its new climate targets could have a negative impact on the country’s international standing at the conference, especially as it bids to host climate talks in 2028.
Why is India delaying its agenda?
India has seen the largest increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 compared to the previous year, followed by China and Indonesia, according to a recent UN emissions gap report.
Demand for more climate finance: India is pushing rich countries to provide much more funding and technological support, not just the modest commitments made so far, reports say
New Delhi has also been a vocal critic of an agreement reached at previous climate talks that called for countries to provide $300 billion for climate-related needs, which the AP said was too low.
Earlier this week at COP30, Minister Yadav called on rich countries to “provide trillions, not billions, of new, additional and concessional climate finance”.
Historically, India has championed the principle of “fairness”, which says that developed countries that emit the most should bear a greater share of the burden.
It is clear that New Delhi wants to emphasize a view shared by many developing countries: that rich countries have a historical responsibility to reduce emissions and provide much greater financial support to the developing world, the BBC report said.
Endless discussions of solitude: A week before the start of COP30, Yadav wrote an article in a national newspaper arguing that “global climate progress cannot come from endless discussions alone”.
“For too long the world has been caught in a cycle of negotiation while the planet’s distress signal grows louder. While dialogue is important, action is essential,” he wrote.
The BBC report said India insists it should not be pushed into a more ambitious climate plan because it has already met a key commitment – to have 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources – years ahead of the 2030 deadline.
Dependence on Coal: India still relies heavily on coal for its energy needs; the transition from coal is politically and economically sensitive.
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The Climate Action Tracker – an independent science project that tracks government climate action and measures it against the globally agreed Paris Agreement – recently pointed out that coal’s share of total electricity generation in India remains around 75%, and needs to drop to at least 19% to bring the country’s climate action in line with the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C.
India committed to domestic adaptation: Yadav
India is committed to domestic adaptation as part of climate action, but as the global divide widens, there is an urgent need to increase funding for adaptation, Minister Yadav said on November 20 at COP30.
Yadav also said that the annual COP30 climate summit must deliver a clear political message that “adaptation is not optional but a necessary investment”.
Adaptation is not an optional extra, but a necessary investment.
“The 2025 Adaptation Gap Report estimates that developing countries will need US$310-365 billion annually by 2035, while current flows are only around US$26 billion,” he said during Thursday’s adaptation dialogue in Baku at the COP30 summit.
Key things
- India’s delay in submitting updated NDCs raises questions about its climate priorities.
- The country emphasizes the need for developed countries to provide significant funding for climate protection.
- India’s dependence on coal remains a significant obstacle to achieving its climate goals.
