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India needs $10tn by 2070 to achieve net zero: Yadav
India needs $10 trillion by 2070 for its net zero goal, focusing on green finance as essential for development and urging developed nations to fulfill their climate commitments.
New Delhi: India will require at least $ 10 trillion by 2070 to meet its net zero target union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav said, laying out the three principles that guide the country’s approach to climate finance at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s LEADS 2025 event on Thursday.
“ First, climate finance is development finance; clean power, efficient cities, climate-smart agriculture, and resilient infrastructure are not add-ons—they are the foundation of energy security, food security, and industrial competitiveness; and ccuntries that mobilize green investment now will own the value chains of tomorrow,” he added, cautioning that public money would not be sufficient to address the scale of the problem at hand.
The minister said the government is aware of what’s needed to attract investors.
“The government is aware that investors move when policies are predictable, pipelines are bankable, and measurements are credible. In short, the path to green finance is the path of collaborative growth,” he added at the conference which comes ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP30) scheduled to be held in Belem, Brazil in November.
“People must be at the centre of green finance which must create decent jobs, protect the vulnerable, and broaden access. A just transition is not a slogan; it is a design requirement,” he said.
Yadav also made it clear that India believes that the developed countries have the moral responsibility to support the Global South. “The UNFCCC process of $300 billion by 2035 is insufficient. We believe the Global North must rise to hold its promises for the greater good of planet earth.”
Yadav stressed that carbon finance is part of the solution.
“High-integrity carbon markets—governed by transparent baselines, conservative crediting, and clear corresponding adjustments—can channel billions into mitigation that would otherwise not be financed. Article 6 transactions, when aligned with NDCs and long-term strategies, provide both results-based payments and an incentive for innovation. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement should be the foundation for integrity,” he said.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables international cooperation to tackle climate change and to unlock financial support for developing countries. Article 6.2 specifically provides accounting and reporting guidance for Parties to use internationally transferred mitigation outcomes towards their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Countries can trade Article 6 units bilaterally or multilaterally. The provision enables a seller country, that is on track to exceed its nationally determined contribution (NDC) target, to trade units and obtain additional climate investments, support for capacity building, and access to technologies not available through domestic resources. The buyer country or entity purchases these units, known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), to address gaps in meeting its own climate goals.
Article 6.4 establishes a new UNFCCC mechanism which can be used to trade high-quality carbon credits.Countries can also trade units through a centralised market mechanism, overseen by the United Nations.
“The Government of India launched the Green Credit Programme in October 2023 to encourage individuals and institutions to voluntarily undertake positive environmental actions. Under this initiative, effective eco-restoration work on degraded forest land was envisioned,” Yadav said.
India’s commitments at the global stage underpin demand for green investment.The Reserve Bank of India in 2023 estimated that India will spend about ₹85.6 trillion ($1.05 trillion) by 2030 to adapt industries to climate norms, Yadav added.
“Green finance is not a niche. It is the backbone of resilient, competitive economies. Green financing is not simply about mobilising money for environmental projects. It is about restructuring the flow of capital so that every investment in infrastructure, industry, transport, or agriculture contributes to sustainability rather than undermines it. It is about creating economic systems where profits and progress are aligned with the health of our ecosystems and the well-being of our people,” he said, also stressing that the process of environmental degradation started about 200 years ago with the Industrial Revolution. “So, 1.5 degree Celsius or 2 degree Celsius is not just a measure of temperature but also the mindless growth that humankind started to pursue,” he said.
Yadav cautioned that “A failure to finance our green transition is a failure of our moral duty. It means locking our future generations into a future of greater climate uncertainty, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. It would be an acceptance that our generation’s comfort is more important than their survival.”
HT reported on September 5 that only 29 countries have updated their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) so far. However the COP30 Presidency, based on their recent visits to various countries, is expecting the European Union, China, India and Latin American countries among others to announce their NDCs by the end of this month, Ana Toni, the CEO of COP30 said. Scaling up climate finance is a key agenda for India. HT reported on June 19 that India and several other developing countries were disappointed that a discussion on article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement was not included in the agenda of the Bonn Climate Talks. Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement mandates that developed countries provide financial resources to assist developing countries with both mitigation and adaptation efforts. India vowed that it will raise the agenda item at COP30 .
Developing country groupings including the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) and the G77 and China had proposed agenda items on both the legal obligation of rich countries to provide climate finance for climate action in developing countries and another on unilateral trade measures. But these agenda items were not adopted at Bonn after the EU and other developed nations did not agree to these.
