Aligning growth with climate action

As the dust settles on the Bonn climate talks, discussions on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) have gained momentum, but key questions remain unresolved. With the global 2025 climate milestone (setting updated climate targets and a new finance goal) and COP30 in Brazil on the horizon, the spotlight is on enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and advancing the GGA. Beyond fulfilling climate obligations, these frameworks will help India carve the path to a resilient, economically thriving future.

As the fastest-growing major economy, India faces the dual challenge of development and climate change. From erratic monsoons and heatwaves to rainfall events and sea level rise, climate risks are intensifying, threatening lives and livelihoods, as the country works to meet the needs of a growing population and rapidly urbanising regions. The path ahead, therefore, requires climate action and development to be pursued together as a cohesive national strategy.

A recent OECD-UNDP report, Investing in Climate for Growth and Development, suggests that bold climate action is a powerful driver of economic transformation. It estimates the global GDP to be 0.2% higher by 2040 and up to 13% higher by 2100 under a high-ambition scenario, incorporating enhanced climate action and accelerated investments aligned with the Paris Agreement’s ‘well-below 2°C’ goal.

For India, green growth is both an environmental imperative and smart economics. It enhances energy security, supports rural livelihoods, and builds resilience of vulnerable communities. Aligning economic strategy with sustainability is key to accelerating development while navigating resource constraints and climate risks.

Investments in renewables, clean mobility, and energy efficiency reduce emissions and boost innovation, jobs, and long-term savings.

While India is drafting National Adaptation Plans for key sectors, its adaptation response remains nationally underfunded and fragmented, with international support proving slow, inconsistent, and insufficient. The promise of the GGA lies in its ability to support implementation through funding, capacity-building, and technology transfer.

India must continue advocating for a GGA architecture rooted in urgency and equity, moving beyond top-down metrics. The real test lies in who benefits and to what extent: Are vulnerable communities protected? Are climate-resilient practices reaching tribal populations and women farmers? Are urban systems flood-proofed?

India should also push for frameworks such as the New Collective Quantified Goal (a global target to mobilise climate finance for developing countries) and the Baku to Belem Roadmap (guiding global action on the Paris Agreement’s Adaptation Goal) to serve not as checklists but as frameworks guiding countries to translate global ambition into local action.

As India prepares its 2025 NDC update, it has a strategic opportunity to set bold decarbonisation targets aligned with its low-carbon development goals and net-zero vision. Ambitious, implementable, and investable enhanced NDCs can become powerful instruments to drive inclusive growth.

This requires integrating climate goals into sectoral and sub-national policies. Since key levers of adaptation and mitigation, including transport, agriculture, water, and land management, are a state’s prerogative, states can become co-architects of national climate ambition.

Financing the future

Finance is central to India’s net-zero journey, with over $10 trillion needed by 2070. While global adaptation finance remains limited, India must champion predictable, accessible, and need-based funding; scale up domestic instruments like Sovereign Green Bonds and Infrastructure Investment Trusts; enhance state-level climate budgeting; and de-risk private investment.

As India shifts to a low-carbon economy, labour transitions will be key. Sectors like coal, construction, and transport, often employing informal workers, will need targeted support. With the right planning, green transitions can create quality jobs. India’s renewable sector, for example, employed over 1.02 million people in 2023. Ensuring a just transition means investing in reskilling, social protection, and community-led development. Equally important is investing in Nature-based Solutions (NbS), which can support both climate resilience and green jobs. Global estimates indicate a requirement of over $484 billion/year by 2030 for NbS, yet current finance flows fall short, highlighting a critical investment gap.

India’s blend of scale, credibility, and developmental urgency positions it to lead efforts for an inclusive global climate framework. An inclusive, investment-ready NDC in 2025 can help India set global standards in emission reduction and climate action.

In the GGA negotiations, India must continue to frame adaptation as a survival imperative, not a donor-driven priority. COP30 marks a pivotal opportunity for India to position climate action as both a shield against risks and a catalyst for ensuring long-term economic vitality.

(The writer heads the Climate, Environment and Sustainability sector at the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy – CSTEP)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.