4 hours agoShareSaveNavin Singh KhadkaEnvironment Correspondent, BBC World ServiceShareSaveGetty ImagesIndia says it shouldn’t be pressed for a more ambitious climate plan as it has already met a key pledge – to have 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources – years ahead of the 2030 deadline.Global assessments praise this but also flag other challenges.Climate Action Tracker – an independent scientific project that tracks government climate action and measures it against the globally agreed Paris agreement – has rated India’s climate targets and actions as “highly insufficient”.It has pointed out that coal’s share in India’s total electricity generation continues to be around 75%, while it must drop to at least 19% to align the country’s climate action with the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5C.Another report released at COP30 has also underscored India’s over-dependence on coal.In the Climate Change Performance Index, published by environmental think-tank GermanWatch, India slipped 13 spots over the past year to rank 23rd on the list of 63 countries and the EU.”India’s national pathway is still anchored in coal and there is no national coal exit timeline and new coal blocks continue to be auctioned,” a report by the think-tank noted.According to the recent UN emissions gap report, India saw the highest increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 compared to the previous year, followed by China and Indonesia.But the world’s largest carbon emitter China, usually India’s ally at climate negotiations to counter developed countries, has already submitted its updated climate plan.And now COP30 is also discussing whether there should be an announcement of a roadmap for the world to transition away from fossil fuels.It remains to be seen if criticism around India’s dependence on coal will influence its updated climate plan, which it has committed to submit before this year ends. …
