Clean energy is the order of the day.' Describe briefly India's changing policy towards climate change in…

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Clean energy is the order of the day.' Describe briefly India's changing policy towards climate change in various international fora in the context of geopolitics.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

India has shifted from defending common but differentiated responsibilities to leading clean-energy diplomacy, driven by energy security, rivalry with China and North-South bargaining. At COP26 in 2021 it pledged net zero by 2070, and its 2022 NDC targets 50 per cent non-fossil capacity by 2030.

**Introduction**

At COP26 (2021) India pledged net zero by 2070, a long way from refusing all mitigation commitments. It has moved from defending its carbon space to shaping the clean-energy order while guarding equity.

**India's Shifting Stand Across Climate Fora**

SKETCH: timeline | India's Climate Diplomacy Shift
- 1992 :: Rio, CBDR secured
- 2009 :: Copenhagen, BASIC
- 2015 :: Paris, ISA launched
- 2021 :: Glasgow, Panchamrit
- 2023 :: G20, triple renewables

1. **Defensive equity**: At Rio and Kyoto India secured "common but differentiated responsibilities", keeping binding cuts for the developed world.
2. **Voluntary action**: At Copenhagen (2009) it joined the BASIC bloc yet offered a 20 to 25 per cent intensity cut by 2020.
3. **Solution provider**: At Paris (2015) it co-founded the International Solar Alliance, and its 2022 NDC targets a 45 per cent intensity cut and 50 per cent non-fossil capacity by 2030.

**Geopolitics Behind the Change**

1. **Energy security**: The 2022 Russia-Ukraine energy shock made renewables and the Green Hydrogen Mission a hedge against oil diplomacy.
2. **China rivalry**: China's grip on solar supply chains drives PLI schemes and Quad clean-energy cooperation.
3. **North-South bargaining**: India opposes the EU's CBAM, called the COP29 finance goal inadequate and backed the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27.

**Way Forward**

1. **Finance and factories**: Mobilise green finance through ISA and the G20 while scaling domestic solar and battery manufacturing.
2. **Carbon market and just transition**: Operationalise the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme to blunt CBAM, and publish a just-transition plan for coal regions.

**Conclusion**

India has become a clean-energy rule-maker that still speaks for climate justice. Meeting its 2030 and 2070 goals would secure strategic autonomy and offer the Global South a model of low-carbon growth.

Clean energy is the order of the day.' Describe briefly India's changing policy towards climate change in various international fora in the context of geopolitics.

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