Cabinet approves new set of climate action plans to reduce 47% emission reduction by 2035

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the next set of climate action plans that includes 47 per cent reduction of emission intensity of the GDP by 2035 and doubling of the carbon sink by expanding the tree and forest cover.

The new nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris agreement also has a target to achieve 60 per cent of cumulative installed electric capacity from non-fossil sources. The new action plans are to be achieved between 2031 and 2035.

While three of the eight NDCs have specific targets to achieve, the remaining five have no such deadlines. They are climate friendly and cleaner path of economic development, resilient infrastructure, life style for environment, low cost finance and capacity building and R&D.

At a media briefing on the Cabinet decision, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said sources of such low cost finance could range from ODA (overseas development assistance) and multilateral funds to pension funds that look for investment opportunities.

The NDCs are commitments by individual countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep the global temperature rise within the guardrail of 1.5 degrees Celsius as per the Paris agreement.

In the last UN climate summit (COP30) in Brazil, the countries agreed to submit their NDCs by 2025 with targets to be achieved by 2035.

India’s original climate commitments – the NDC of 2015 - set targets 33–35 per cent reduction in the emissions intensity of GDP and 40 per cent share of non-fossil resources based electric power installed capacity by 2030. Both have been met 11 years and 9 years ahead of the timelines respectively.

Between 2005-2020, the emission intensity was reduced by 36%, whereas more than 52 per cent of installed electric capacity came from non-fossil sources as on February 2026, officials said.

Further on the NDC goal of creating additional carbon sink through forest and tree cover, India has already created 2.29 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2021 and the target now is to create a sink to absorb 3.5 billion to four billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.