1) India’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Challenges, Commitments, and the Road Ahead
India stands at a crucial developmental crossroads: rapid economic expansion is occurring alongside a sharp rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 places India among the top three global emitters by absolute volume, after China and the United States. Although India’s per-capita emissions remain far below the global average—a key argument in climate negotiations—total emissions have increased due to expanding energy demand, industrial growth, urbanisation, mobility needs, and agricultural methane output.
The world is drifting away from the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Even with full implementation of current national pledges, global temperatures could rise by 2.3–2.8°C by 2100. Temporary overshoot of 1.5°C by the early 2030s could push ecosystems beyond adaptation limits, forcing reliance on costly and uncertain carbon removal technologies.
2) Sources of India’s Emissions:
Four sectors dominate India’s GHG profile—energy, industry, transport, and agriculture. Coal remains the ba
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