India’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are no longer just environmental pledges but are shaping the country’s economic trajectory, said Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav in an interview with HT.
He added that the revised NDCs for 2031-35 were finalised after explicitly factoring in geopolitical realities, including their impact on global energy markets and supply chains. Further, on whether India’s NDCs could have been more ambitious, Yadav said as energy demand continues to grow rapidly, maintaining and expanding this share to 60% by 2035 requires massive investments in grid infrastructure, storage, and system flexibility.
Excerpts:
Congratulations on approving the NDCs under the Paris Agreement. How do you think these revised NDCs will shape growth in India in the next ten years and further ahead?
India’s climate commitments are no longer just environmental pledges. Through these commitments, PM Narendra Modi has offered a blueprint for economic transformation. India’s NDCs, anchored in our long-term vision of net-zero by 2070, signal a decisive shift toward a growth model that is cleaner, more resilient, and globally competitive.The NDCs align with the Viksit Bharat goals. These are important stepping stones where each one progressively raise ambition while balancing development needs. Over the next decade, the updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), including the recently announced goals for 2031–35, signal commitment for continuation of a growth model under the visionary leadership of PM Modi that is cleaner, more resilient, and globally competitive.
Over the next decade and beyond, India’s NDC is likely to shape growth through substantive initiatives which include: A decisive push on clean energy. India is accelerating investments in renewable energy, especially solar and wind, while also expanding nuclear power as a stable, low-carbon base load.
This will not only reduce emissions but also strengthen energy security and reduce import dependence. The emergence of renewable energy, green hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is crucial. Along with solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy, hydrogen is expected to become a cornerstone of India’s future energy system, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors like steel, refining, and heavy transport. This will open new industrial ecosystems and export opportunities.
As India continues to industrialize, CCUS technologies, for which a provision on ₹20,000 crore has been made in the Budget, will also play a critical role in decarbonizing the sectors where emissions are difficult to eliminate. This will drive innovation and create new technology markets. We are encouraging an adaptation-centric development model and strengthened disaster preparedness. India’s NDCs rightly emphasize adaptation alongside mitigation. Investments in water management, climate-resilient agriculture, and sustainable coastal management, and early warning systems for all will safeguard livelihoods and ensure long-term productivity.
Scaling up early warning systems and climate-resilient infrastructure will also reduce economic losses and protect vulnerable communities, making growth more stable and predictable. Technology and innovation are key enablers. From energy storage to smart grids and climate-smart agriculture, the transition will catalyse a wave of Innovation. India’s climate strategy is rooted in pragmatism ensuring that the transition does not compromise access to affordable energy or food. These remain the cornerstones of all climate actions. Taken together, India’s climate action will create jobs, build new industries, and enhance India’s global competitiveness, while also making the economy more resilient to climate risks.
In essence, India’s NDCs are not just commitments to the world. These are commitments to our own development trajectory. These chart a pathway where growth is sustainable, inclusive, and secure, ensuring that as India rises, it does so responsibly and resiliently.
These NDCs have come at a critical time when there is conflict and fossil fuels supply chains are severely disrupted. Why did you choose to announce them now?
India’s climate action is rooted in our strong belief in ‘Green Growth’. The vision of PM Modi and commitment of the country are very clear and unambiguous. Thus, we were never in doubt about taking the path of greener, cleaner, and low carbon growth models.
India’s updated NDCs are the result of an extensive and carefully structured consultation process across ministries, think tanks, industry, and experts. These consultations explicitly took into account the geopolitical contexts and their impact on global energy markets and supply chains.
Accordingly, the targets reflect India’s national circumstances, factoring in potential supply chain disruptions, the imperative of development, and the reality that our energy demand will continue to grow in the years ahead.
So, announcement of our NDC is a product of clear vision, sustained action plan and is grounded in careful planning, realism, and a balanced approach to growth, resilience, and climate responsibility. Finally, the NDC’s preparations have just been concluded and announcement follows naturally from its completion.
Several experts have pointed out that our NDCs are modest and that we can achieve them much in advance by 2030. For example, we have already achieved 52% installed capacity from non-fossil sources. What do you think?
It is important to view India’s NDCs not just in terms of what has already been achieved, but in terms of the scale, pace, and complexity of the transition ahead. Yes, India has made significant progress, already crossing around 50% non- fossil installed capacity ahead of schedule, and this reflects strong policy direction and implementation capability. But the next phase is far more demanding.
As energy demand continues to grow rapidly, maintaining and expanding this share to 60% by 2035 requires massive investments in grid infrastructure, storage, and system flexibility. Issues like intermittency of renewables, land availability, and integration at scale become much more complex at higher levels of penetration. At the same time, sectors such as steel, cement, and transport, critical for development, are much harder to decarbonize. This is why India is advancing solutions like green hydrogen, nuclear energy, and CCUS, but these technologies are still evolving and require time, finance, and global collaboration.
Financing and technology access also remain key constraints. Achieving these targets will require large-scale climate finance and affordable capital, along with access to advanced technologies. We must bear in mind that the obligations of the developed countries to provide means of implementation are yet to start in a meaningful way.
Therefore, India’s NDC for 2031–35 is carefully calibrated and it reflects ambition, but also realism. It is aligned with national circumstances, implementation capacity, and the need to safeguard energy and food security.
They ensure continuity of progress while leaving room to enhance ambition as technologies mature, finance flows improve, and capacities strengthen. In essence, India’s approach is to walk the talk and do so in a way that is sustainable, resilient, and development-oriented.
The quantitative goals in NDCs stress on cleaner economic development, mobilizing climate finance etc. How do you think that will shape up?
India’s approach to climate action today is best understood as strategic, integrated, and forward-looking—not a set of isolated announcements, but a coherent policy architecture that links immediate actions with a long-term vision up to 2070. The quantitative goals in India’s NDCs are not just numerical targets, these are signals of how the economy itself will evolve in the coming decade and beyond.
India is pursuing climate action as a development strategy, anchored in its Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LT-LEDS), reinforced through first and successive NDCs, and operationalised through recent policy initiatives. The following aspects of the quantitative goals of the NDC are important. The goals anchor a shift toward cleaner economic growth. Towards the goals reducing emissions intensity and increasing non-fossil energy capacity effectively decouple growth from emissions, India will continue to expand renewable energy base while becoming more energy efficient, and less carbon-intensive. Over time, the goals will reshape core sectors—power, industry, transport toward cleaner production systems.
The Goals have potential to create a strong pipeline for investment. The goals provide long-term policy certainty, which is critical for investors. Sectors like renewable energy, green hydrogen, nuclear, energy storage, and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) are likely to see accelerated capital flows. At the same time, the sectors with focus on enhancing our adaptation capacity such as water agriculture, resilient infrastructure are also likely to attract significant public and private investment.
The goals will catalyse climate finance at scale. India’s approach is to combine domestic resources with international finance. Mechanisms such as carbon markets, blended finance, and partnerships, including bilateral initiatives like Joint Crediting Mechanism, and recent budget announcement for mission on Carbon Capture Storage and utilisation, will help mobilize technology and capital, especially for hard-to-abate sectors.
The Goals will drive innovation and new industrial ecosystems. As the goals under India’s NDCs are implemented, they will stimulate R&D, manufacturing, and deployment of clean technologies in India.
Finally, the goals ensure balance with national priorities. The just transition is being designed around India’s development needs—energy security, food security, social security and rising energy demand. So the shift will be calibrated, ensuring growth remains stable, inclusive and environmentally friendly.
In summary, the NDC quantitative goals will shape the economy, which is cleaner, more climate resilient, and investment-driven in a manner where climate action becomes a driver of growth, rather than a constraint on it.
The Global South seems to be doing much more climate especially when the west is fighting a war. Do you think India’s NDC has a message for developing countries?
Yes, the global south has been doing much more than its fair share in spite of their minimal contribution to the historical emissions. India’s NDC demonstrates that climate action and development can go together. India’s approach shows that ambitious climate targets like expanding non-fossil energy and reducing emissions intensity can be pursued alongside rapid economic growth. For developing countries, this is important: climate action need not come at the cost of development. Secondly, national circumstances must remain central. India’s NDC is carefully calibrated to its realities i.e. rising energy demand, the need for industrialization, and ensuring energy and food security. The message is that climate commitments should be ambitious, but also realistic, climate friendly and rooted in domestic priorities. This demonstrates a credible pathway: start with what is achievable, build capacity, and then raise ambition over time.
Thirdly, technology and partnerships are essential. Through initiatives like green hydrogen, CCUS, Production Link Incentives for high efficiency solar PV manufacturing, batteries, and international collaborations, India is highlighting that access to technology and finance is critical. For many developing countries, this reinforces the need for stronger global cooperation.
Fourth, adaptation is as important as mitigation. India’s strong focus is on water, agriculture, and disaster resilience. It underscores a key Global South priority i.e. protecting lives and livelihoods, not just reducing emissions. Finally, India would like to reiterate that it has the faith in climate multilateralism and it is delivering; and Global South can lead responsibly by taking meaningful climate action while continuing to advocate for equity, climate justice, and adequate finance from developed countries.
In essence, the message is that it is possible to pursue a pathway that is development-first, climate-responsible, and future-ready, and that pathway can be shaped by the priorities and realities of the Global South itself.
We have a situation where the US, the largest historical emitter, has withdrawn from the UNFCCC. How do you think we can ensure accountability in delivery of climate finance and technology transfer?
Well, we all must understand that climate finance and technology transfer is a pre- requisite for climate action at scale in developing countries. It is due to this undeniable fact that it was included as an obligation on the developed world right from the inception of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement. While Global South is indeed doing much more than its fair share, it is expected, and rightfully so, that the developed countries will also discharge their obligations in true letter and spirit of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement.
Even as global circumstances evolve, our focus is on strengthening the climate multilateral framework.
