As nearly 200 countries debate the planet’s climate future at the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Brazil’s Amazonian city of Belém, India finds itself in a unique position balancing the weight of its need for economic growth with its increasingly prominent role as a voice for the Global South.
This year’s negotiations follow last year’s disappointing COP29 in Azerbaijan, where countries missed climate finance expectations and agreed to raise $300 billion (€259 billion) annually by 2035 instead of the appealed $1.3 trillion. Developing nations criticized industrialized economies for dodging responsibility by not pledging adequate climate financing. India called the pledged sum “too little, too distant.”
Standing on the shaky ground set by COP29, COP30 aims to operationalize climate finance targets and revise national climate plans called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Host country Brazil has insisted this will be “the COP of implementation.”
How is India balancing economic and climate needs?
For India, like other vulnerable countries in the Global South facing a disproportionate brunt of the climate crisis, the stakes and hopes are high. As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, it walks a tightrope between economic ambitions and collective responsibility to tackle the climate challenge.
In recent years India has made substantial progress in renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, and now ranks fourth globally in renewable generation capacity according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). A report published in October by the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded India is set to become the second-largest renewables growth market globally, after China, by 2030.
Despite achievements in renewables, India still relies heavily on coal, which is estimated to generate around 75% of its electricity. The country is the world’s second-largest coal consumer, after China. Amid strong economic growth and rising energy demand, India has seen a multifold jump in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It was responsible for the biggest rise in GHG emissions globally between 2023 and 2024, adding about 165 million tons of GHGs during this period, according to a recent UN report.
Still, India’s emissions growth has been accompanied by more proactive mitigation commitments through its NDCs. This year India achieved 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources — five years ahead of its 2030 target.
Where do wealthy countries stand?
The US, historically the biggest emitter, pulled out of the 2015 Paris Agreement for the second time under President Donald Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a “hoax” and “a money-making industry.” The European Union remains divided and unable to set a clear direction to achieve its climate goals. Just days before COP30, the EU agreed to cut emissions by 90% by 2040 from 1990 levels but allowed member countries to buy foreign carbon credits to make up 5% of the emission reduction goal.
Speaking of the West’s waning leadership in climate affairs, Avantika Goswami, a climate policy researcher at New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, told DW the West’s leadership role on climate policy is faltering. “It’s the crisis of Western economies today, which is spread across military conflicts, trade wars, deindustrialization, and economic stagnation — to which they are responding anxiously,” she said.
Dhanasree Jayaram, co-coordinator at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education’s Center for Climate Studies, echoed this view: “Many developing countries have taken the lead while countries in the West or Global North have been faltering in the past decade. This is an opportunity, because these were the countries that were often blamed for not contributing enough to the global public good.”
A leading player in climate diplomacy
India has long argued for “common but differentiated responsibilities” — that while all countries must act, the biggest historical polluters should do more. New Delhi has played a key role in recent COP meetings, especially in setting up the Loss and Damage Fund to help vulnerable countries suffering the adverse effects of climate change.
Jayaram pointed to initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance to help countries scale up renewable power generation. By doing so, India has positioned itself as a bridge between the Global North and Global South, elevating its standing as a diplomatic actor in climate talks and multilateral forums.
But there remains a perception, particularly in the West, that the Global South is not doing its bit. Arunabha Ghosh, a special envoy to COP30 representing South Asia and CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said: “We have to bridge the ambition and the implementation gaps by bridging the perception gap. The perception gap that countries in the Global South are not acting or don’t want to act. In fact, there’s a lot more that’s happening in the Global South than is given credit for.”
What does India want from COP30?
Like many low- and middle-income countries, India argues that the world’s wealthiest countries bear greater responsibility for climate change and therefore should do more to help poorer countries and finance transitions worldwide. Climate finance remains one of the biggest challenges for India in achieving its environmental goals.
Ghosh said a priority is boosting climate funding in ways that do not increase the burden on developing countries. “I would argue that it should also be about converting climate finance into climate investment so that money comes into our economies and builds infrastructure that we desperately need.”
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
