Look beyond old climate fault lines

Why in the News

India has yet to decide whether to back a proposed global target to raise electricity’s share of world energy use, the Union Environment Minister said ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations climate convention in Antalya, Turkey. He said every country must account for its sovereignty and poverty-eradication programmes, a cautious stance at a time when climate diplomacy is changing.

What is the ’35 by 35′ target, and where does India stand?

1. Electrification target: A global energy initiative to raise electricity’s share of global energy use to 35 per cent by 2035. Electrification means running vehicles, cooking and industry on electricity instead of burning fuel directly.
2. Starting point: Electricity made up 23 per cent of global energy use in 2023.
3. Who backs it: The COP co-presidencies, Turkey and Australia, proposed it. Several developed countries see electrification as an easy early gain in the transition away from fossil fuels.
4. India’s approach: India has prioritised renewables and has not committed to a fixed share of electricity in its energy mix.
5. The takeaway: India wants to choose its own route to cutting emissions rather than accept a single global share that ignores national circumstances.

Why is India’s caution reasonable?

1. Developing-country constraints: Developing countries face weaker grids, financially stressed power utilities and limited capacity to invest in new technologies, so a fixed electrification share is harder for them to meet.
2. Steady delivery: India is among a small group of countries making steady progress on their Paris Agreement commitments.
3. Unfair ambition critique: India’s early delivery on energy targets has drawn criticism that its targets lack ambition. The critique ignores developed countries’ renewable bottlenecks and the Global North’s unmet finance and technology commitments.

Why must India still look beyond the old fault lines?

1. Changing climate diplomacy: India should respond to how climate diplomacy is changing, rather than rely only on the old divide between the developed North and the developing South.
2. India’s own interest: Confronting the climate crisis with greater urgency serves India’s own developmental and strategic interests.
3. Global South leadership: Climate action lets India lead the Global South through the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which it stewards.

Challenges

1. Coal-heavy power: Most of India’s electricity still comes from coal, so electrifying end uses raises emissions until the grid gets cleaner.
2. Top-down targets: India opposes new top-down mitigation targets on developing countries, and a fixed global electrification share edges towards one.
3. Variable renewables: Solar and wind output rises and falls with the weather, so a renewables-led path needs storage and transmission to keep supply steady.

Way Forward

1. National electrification pathway: India should set out its own sector-wise electrification plan tied to renewable capacity, without a fixed global share.
2. Tracking support: India should press at COP31 for measurable tracking of developed countries’ finance and technology commitments.
3. Project offers: India should offer Global South partners solar and disaster-resilient infrastructure projects through the ISA and CDRI.

Conclusion

India’s refusal to sign up to a single global electricity share rests on real constraints, but a defensive position alone will not secure Global South leadership. The marker to watch is whether India arrives at the summit with its own offer through the institutions it leads, rather than only a reservation.

Back2Basics: International Solar Alliance

1. Origin: Launched by India and France at COP21 in Paris in 2015.
2. Headquarters: Gurugram, India.
3. Mandate: It promotes solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and aims to mobilise over $1 trillion of investment in solar deployment by 2030.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2025, GS3, 15 marks] Write a review on India’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement (2015) and mention how these have been further strengthened in COP26 (2021). In this direction, how has the first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) intended by India been updated in 2022?”