How far has India got?

Official figures, each with its own date, show where India stands:

• Emissions intensity: fell by 36% between 2005 and 2020 (India's NDC 2031-2035 and the Fourth Biennial Update Report, BUR-4).
• Clean power capacity: non-fossil sources were 52.57% of installed capacity on 28 February 2026, beating the 2030 target of about 50% early (NDC 2031-2035). The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reported 300.50 GW of non-fossil capacity on 31 July 2026, over 54% of about 552 GW in total (PIB, 9 August 2026).
• Forest carbon sink: an additional 2.29 billion tonnes CO2e was created between 2005 and 2021 (NDC 2031-2035).
• Total emissions: India emitted 2,959 million tonnes CO2e in 2020 without land use and forestry, and 2,437 million tonnes net when land use and forestry are included (BUR-4, submitted 30 December 2024; PIB, January 2025). Energy made up 75.66% of the total.

India's First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR-1, MoEFCC) under the Paris Agreement gives newer figures for 2022: 3,396 million tonnes CO2e without land use and forestry and 2,824 million tonnes net with them, with energy at 73.4%. BTR-1 uses IPCC AR5 GWP values, while BUR-4 used the older AR2 values, so the two sets are not directly comparable.

An illustrative example of emissions intensity

Illustrative only, with made-up round numbers: suppose a country's GDP doubles over 15 years while its emissions grow by 40%. Its emissions intensity is then 1.4 ÷ 2 = 0.7 of the starting value, a 30% cut. Total emissions still went up. This is why an intensity target can be met while absolute emissions rise, and why both numbers are worth watching.