---
title: "Renewable Energy, Climate Finance & Transition"
description: "Explore India's renewable energy push, climate finance architecture, and the just green transition, with targets, institutions and the equity debate for UPSC."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/upsc-environment-ecology-renewable-energy-climate-finance-the-green-transition"
---

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Renewable energy, climate finance & the green transition

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# Renewable energy, climate finance & the green transition

India's renewable energy push, climate finance architecture, and the just green transition—targets, institutions, and the equity debate for UPSC GS-3.

## India's Renewable Energy Trajectory

India's energy transition is anchored in commitments made at COP21 (Paris, December 2015) and revised at COP26 (Glasgow, November 2021). At Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the **Panchamrit** (five nectar elements): non-fossil energy capacity of **500 GW by 2030**, meeting **50% of energy requirements from renewables by 2030**, reducing projected carbon emissions by **one billion tonnes** to 2030, cutting emissions intensity of GDP by **45% by 2030** (over 2005 levels), and achieving **net zero by 2070**.

These were formalised in India's updated **Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)**, submitted to the UNFCCC in August 2022, which raised the emissions-intensity target from 33-35% to 45% and the non-fossil power capacity share to about 50%.

## Institutions and Flagship Schemes

The **Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)** is the nodal ministry. India co-founded the **International Solar Alliance (ISA)** with France at COP21 in 2015; the ISA, headquartered in Gurugram, became a treaty-based body in 2017 and targets mobilising USD 1 trillion in solar investment by 2030. India also launched the **Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)** at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.

Key domestic instruments include:

- **National Solar Mission** (2010), one of eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC, 2008).
- **PM-KUSUM** (2019) for solar pumps and grid-connected agricultural solar.
- **PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana** (February 2024) for rooftop solar in one crore households.
- **PLI Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules** to build domestic manufacturing and reduce import dependence.
- **National Green Hydrogen Mission** (January 2023), with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, targeting 5 million tonnes of annual green hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
- **Green Energy Corridors** for evacuation and grid integration of renewable power.

## The Carbon Market and Energy Conservation

The **Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022** empowered the central government to establish a **Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS)**, notified in 2023, moving India towards a regulated domestic carbon market administered by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The Act also expanded the scope of the **Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT)** scheme and mandated minimum non-fossil energy use for designated consumers.

India's renewable installed capacity crossed significant milestones through 2023-24, with solar leading growth. Yet coal still supplies the bulk of generation, making the transition a question of sequencing, grid storage, and finance rather than mere capacity addition. The retirement of coal, battery storage (the **Viability Gap Funding scheme for Battery Energy Storage Systems**, 2023), and pumped hydro are the binding constraints on a 50% renewable grid.

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