Still possible to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsius if developed world keeps promises: India

New Delhi: India on Wednesday said it is still possible to keep global warming within the 1.5-degree Celsius limit, but this would require developed countries to fulfil their commitments on financial and technological support.

Addressing TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav also said the current multilateral system is failing to tackle global challenges like climate change and called for urgent reforms in global governance to ensure that equity, justice and action remain central to climate negotiations.

Citing the 2024 UNEP Emissions Gap Report, he said, "It is still technically possible for us to stay on the 1.5-degree Celsius pathway, with solar energy, wind power and forests offering tremendous potential for significant and rapid reductions in emissions."

"However, to fully unlock this potential, we must act with urgency and developed countries should honour and fulfil their obligations, in particular, on means of implementation," the minister said.

Developed countries, historically responsible for most of the greenhouse-gas emissions driving climate change, were required to deliver a new and ambitious financial package to support climate action in the developing world at the UN climate conference in Azerbaijan last year.

However, they offered a paltry Rs 26,06,790 crore ($300 billion) by 2035, a mere fraction of the at least Rs 1,12,96,610 crore ($1.3 trillion) needed annually from 2025.

Yadav said the New Collective Quantified Goal or the new climate-finance framework shifts responsibility from historical emitters to developing nations through voluntary contributions, undermining equity.

"Setting a mobilisation rather than provisioning goal lets developed countries evade their obligations under Article 9 of the Paris Agreement," he said.

Yadav also said resilient and inclusive development strategies are essential to achieving the vision of "Viksit Bharat".

"Without addressing climate risks, India could lose 24.7 per cent of its GDP by 2070 due to climate-related disruptions," he said, citing a report prepared by the Asian Development Bank.

The minister said the Global South is driving the climate agenda and the world sees India as a leader.

According to India's Fourth Biennial Update Report submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December last year, the country's emission intensity of the GDP fell by 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020. India aims to reduce the GDP emission intensity by 45 per cent by 2030.

Yadav said India's budget for 2025 focuses on long-term energy security, with plans to expand nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047.

He said India's total adaptation-relevant expenditure rose from 3.7 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015-16 to 5.6 per cent in 2021-22.

"India is not just progressing on sustainability, it is leading the charge. Our commitment to environmental action is unwavering and we are delivering results," Yadav said.

He called for bold, multi-sectoral partnerships in climate action, urging India's private sector to step up, drive innovation and collaborate with research institutes to develop scalable solutions.

"The time for incremental change is over. All stakeholders, including corporates, must act now," he said.

Calling for more financial support to help developing countries adapt to the rapidly warming world, Yadav said national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), are now focusing more on nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation.

"Adaptation finance has thus far been quite inadequate. Eighty-one per cent of countries have included adaptation measures, particularly in food security, water resources and ecosystem management, according to the NDC Synthesis Report of the UNFCCC in 2024," he added.

Yadav stressed the need for countries to strengthen their climate-action plans by including measures that maximise social, economic and environmental benefits, with stronger international cooperation as the foundation.