Cabinet clears India's 2035 climate targets: NDC targets 60% clean energy share, 47% emissions reduction by 2035

India’s long awaited 2035 nationally determined contributions (NDC) were finalised and approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday. The 2035 NDC to be submitted shortly to the UNFCCC, sets three targets-- increasing the share of non-fossil fuel sources to 60 per cent of the total electricity generation capacity, reducing the emissions intensity of its economy by 47 per cent from its 2005 levels and increasing the nature-based carbon sink to 3.5 to 4 billion tons by 2035.

In an official release, the government said that in setting the 2035 NDC targets it “has considered the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake (GST), principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), and equity with a view to harmonize national realities, developmental priorities, energy security and the need for greater ambition in climate action, in line with the purpose and long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.”

The finalisation and announcement of the NDC comes as a new assessment by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and Carbon Brief finds that India’s carbon dioxide emissions grew by just 0.7% in 2025, registering the lowest rate of increase in two decades. A sharp decline compared to the 4 to 11% in the post-Covid years. The lower growth rate is partly driven by record clean energy addition and weak energy demand.



"India’s 2035 NDC signals continuity with a climate strategy that has remained steady and implementation-focused,” said Shruti Sharma, Lead, Affordable Energy, IISD. In the first two rounds of NDC, India set three quantified targets-a sectoral target for increasing the share of non-fossil fuel electricity production capacity, an economy-wide goal of reducing the GHG emissions intensity of the economy and increasing the nature-based carbon sink.

As with earlier editions, the 2035 NDC includes non-quantified goals such as “climate-friendly and cleaner path of economic development”, this includes electrification of railways, green hydrogen and green steel. “The investment we are making in railways is an example of climate-friendly and clean development. The railways have 90 to 95 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions this despite fuel used for generating electricity. We will continue to take cleaner development options,” said Minister for Information Ashwini Vaishnaw. With the importance India has put on adapting to climate impact and given its stewardship of the inter-governmental agency Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), the 2035 NDC have resilient infrastructure as one of the eight goals.

Given that non-fossil fuels account for 52% of the electricity generation capacity and at 36% below 2005 levels India is well on its way to meet the 2030 target of reducing emissions intensity by 45%, there was an expectation that India would set more ambitious targets. “A step in the right direction but fall short of the ambition required at this stage of the energy transition,” said Vibhuti Garg, Director South Asia, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

India tends to make commitments it is confident of meeting. “Its track record shows that approach has delivered results,” said Sharma.

The NDC goals are also about India’s recognition that “ambitious climate action is not just a moral obligation but a core national interest for its economic growth and resilient development,” said Harjeet Singh, climate activist and founding director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. India is “capitalizing on the extraordinary momentum that saw it smash its previous renewable energy goals years ahead of schedule,” said Singh.

India’s quantified targets are in keeping with the global trend, where major economies have been extremely conservative with their 2035 targets.

"While the global community has waited with bated breath for this announcement, the result is a clear signal of integrity and commitment — especially at a time when several developed nations are backtracking on their climate pledges. As a global economic powerhouse, India can further accelerate its domestic efforts if the developed world meets its obligation to provide adequate climate finance, ensuring that India’s success becomes the world’s success,” said Singh.

India’s targets must be seen in the context of the current geopolitical headwinds and the higher domestic targets indicating the high likelihood of India overachieving its NDC. Estimates by the Niti Aayog demonstrate that even with the current policy scenario non fossil sources will account for 81 to 83 percent of total electricity generating capacity by 2050 and the Central Electricity Authority has set a domestic target of 70 per cent non-fossil fuel capacity by 2035. Taken together, it “shows India's long-term commitment to sustainability, despite recent geopolitical headwinds,” said Ulka Kelkar, Executive Director, Climate program, WRI India.

“The measured rise in NDC targets may also need to be seen in the context of limited progress on the scale of international climate finance available to emerging economies,” said Sharma. India’s NDCs have already helped shift policy and public finance toward clean energy. Clean energy subsidies have contributed to a fivefold rise in renewable energy capacity since 2014. “The new NDC should help sustain that momentum,” according to Sharma.

Another factor that must be considered in assessing the targets is technological capacity. An assessment of India’s track record in reducing the emissions intensity of its economy since it first set that target in 2010 signals that further rapid reductions will require marked policy and technological shifts. “The reduction in emission intensity would require a faster pace of growth in technologies across hard to abate sectors, with CCUS and hydrogen not yet to scale the concern is whether the incremental reduction in emissions intensity can be achieved to the extent mentioned,” said Suranjali Tandon, Associate Professor, National Institute for Public Finance and Policy.

Coming at a time when climate action is competing with defence and economic priorities with two wars raging, India’s 2035 sends an important signal. “Whatever a country with 1.4 billion people does matters and whatever one of the fastest growing emerging economies in the world matters. India is shifting from a country addicted to coal to one with a fast-growing clean-tech sector - what matters is the direction and pace of travel and on those metrics this plan represents progress,” said Anne-Sophie Cerisola, a key player in the COP21 presidency now Distinguished Fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Strategic Perspectives.

Goal No.	Objective	Details / Target
Goal 1	Emission Intensity Reduction	Reduce emission intensity by 47% by 2035 (baseline: 2005)
Goal 2	Non-Fossil Power Capacity	Achieve 60% of cumulative installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2035
Goal 3	Carbon Sink Expansion	Increase carbon sink from 2.3 billion tons to 3.5–4.0 billion tons through forest and tree cover by 2035
Goal 4	Clean Economic Development	Promote a climate-friendly and cleaner path of economic growth
Goal 5	Climate Resilient Infrastructure	Build infrastructure resilient to climate change impacts
Goal 6	Sustainable Lifestyle	Promote Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE)
Goal 7	Green Finance	Develop low-cost, long-term financial mechanisms for green energy
Goal 8	Capacity & Innovation	Strengthen capacity building, research & development, cutting-edge technology, and international collaboration