India has committed to achieving about 60% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2035, with the help of the technology transfer and low-cost international finance, as it submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for 2031-35. It pledged to reduce the intensity of its GDP emissions by 47% by 2035, from the 2005 level, and create a carbon sink of 3.5 to 4 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through forest and tree cover by 2035, as compared to the baseline year of 2005.
NDCs are non-binding, voluntary climate action plans that countries submit every five years under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.
India flagged the “mitigation ambition gap” by developed countries and the exacerbation of global warming due to their inadequate response. It highlighted that a significant part of the NDCs of developing countries, including India, is conditional upon the availability of adequate climate finance. It said these conditional commitments cannot be fulfilled without sufficient funding, technology cooperation, and capacity-building, and hence weaken the collective objectives of the Paris Agreement.
In March, the Union Cabinet approved enhanced climate targets for the 2031-2035 period under the Paris Agreement, raising its commitments on emissions, clean energy, and forests, while the United States has withdrawn from the global climate framework and developed nations are scaling back ambition.
The NDCs cited data from the Second Needs Determination Report (UNFCCC SCF 2024) indicating a significant escalation in the financial resources required by the developing countries for implementing NDCs. The updated estimates project a cumulative financing need ranging from $5.012 trillion to $6.852 trillion by the year 2030. This implies an annual mobilisation requirement of approximately $455–584 billion between 2019 and 2030.
“These figures underscore the critical imperative for scaled-up international support to match the implementation ambitions of developing nations…the enhancement of ambition, particularly for developing countries such as India, is closely linked to the effective provision of means of implementation, including predictable, adequate, and accessible climate finance,” the document said.
It said India’s NDCs are guided by the vision of Vikshit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047. “India is aspiring to become a developed nation by 2047. The vision ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’ aims to attain new heights of prosperity, making the best facilities available in rural and urban areas, adopting a pro-citizen governance model, and building world-class modern infrastructure,” the document said.
It added that India aims to deliver on its ambitious targets of universal access to services like water, sanitation, waste management, affordable housing, and electric power in line with short and medium-horizon goals set out by the current initiatives of the government, including fulfilment of sustainable development goals.
The document said India will pursue low-carbon development pathways, but at its own pace. For India to move from a lower-middle-income economy to a developed nation, economic progress needs to be supported by improvements in technology, skilled human resources, robust infrastructure, and sound fiscal strategies, the document added.
“India remains committed to pursuing low-carbon development pathways that are firmly anchored in its national circumstances, developmental priorities, and long-term economic aspirations. Accordingly, the pace and scale of this transition will be calibrated to ensure that growth, poverty eradication, and social development objectives are fully safeguarded.”
The document added the historical accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) since the Industrial Revolution has caused global warming, a problem that has been exacerbated by the inadequate response of developed countries. “Despite the adoption of the UNFCCC, the failure of many developed nations to meet their obligations has created a ‘mitigation ambition gap’ that calls for stronger global action from them.”
India said it emphasises South-South cooperation as an important pillar of global climate action. “Through capacity building and knowledge sharing, including through platforms such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, India aims to support developing countries. Such cooperation is complementary to, and not a substitute for, the obligations of developed countries under the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement.”
It said that India will need the transfer of technology and adequate financing to address its mitigation and adaptation needs. India has called for global collaboration in Research and Development for clean and sustainable technologies and for facilitating their transfer to developing countries without imposing prohibitive costs.
India said its commitments are contingent upon the receipt of due support, including its due share of international climate finance, and may be modified to match the level of support made available.
