India meets climate targets for clean electricity generation
The world's most populous country claims to be five years ahead of schedule in its energy decarbonization. Half of its electricity generation capacity comes from non-fossil fuels. This is an important step for the climate, but not enough to overcome its heavy reliance on coal.
This is a “historic green shift for India,” Pralhad Joshi said. India’s Minister of Renewable Energy announced on social media that his country “will now be able to produce half of its electricity from non-fossil energy sources, thus achieving its goal five years ahead of schedule,” the Financial Times reported .
In other words, “the world’s most populous country” has met the target set under the Paris Climate Agreement: “Half of its electricity generation capacity comes from non-fossil fuels, five years ahead of its 2030 commitment.”
While India is still “the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide” and “remains heavily dependent on coal for its electricity generation,” the British business daily explains , this is a “significant milestone.” It “demonstrates the [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi government’s concerted commitment to building new clean electricity generation infrastructure.”
However, “a significant gap between installed capacity and electricity generation” remains . Of India’s 484.8 gigawatts (GW) of total electricity capacity, “242.8 GW comes from non-fossil fuels,” India claims. However, according to the Statistical Review of World Energy’s annual report, India “produced 2,030 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024,” of which “240.5 TWh came from renewable energy, while 1,517.9 TWh came from coal, which is a record high.”
Rohit Chandra, an energy specialist at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, sums up: “Of course, this is a good result. There is still a lot to do to combat climate change; what matters is the energy actually produced.”
Courrier International
