India is steadily marching towards achieving carbon neutrality as it looks to balance economic growth imperatives with climate goals. Being the world’s most populous country and the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), India stands at a crossroad. Climate priorities that India has adopted are stated in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the Paris Agreement, making clear the sheer scale of the transformation needed. However, carbon neutrality is not a journey that India will make alone. Partnerships—between the Government of India, private enterprises, financial institutions, and international organizations—are the answer to achieving this balance of robust economic growth while ensuring the success of the ambitious climate targets.

Climate extremes in terms of increased temperatures, extended droughts, severe hurricanes, frequent cloudburst events, etc., destroy communities and infrastructure, and are likely a state of affairs that could define a new normal for the world. The 2018 Kerala floods is one example, which displaced 5.4 million people and caused damage of more than $3.5 billion. This is why immediate action to address adaptation and climate change resilience is critical in the near term.

Between 2019 and 2023, the World Bank’s Resilient Kerala Programme infused $525 million in support, to attract an additional $1.13 billion from development partners. This collaboration invested in-systemic changes and reforms in water resource management, urban planning, climate budgeting, and agriculture, while also addressing public health challenges exacerbated by climate change. Expanding such models throughout India would be instrumental in scaling up adaptation and resilience and reducing vulnerabilities.

India’s journey in renewable energy is already among the fastest globally. The goal of the government to increase the non-fossil fuel generation capacity to 50 per cent by 2030 has spurred innovations and investments.  Though achieving 500 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030 is a massive task, the technologies available to decarbonize the grid are already available and being deployed globally. The challenge here is to mobilize capital and resources to enable this scale-up. Private sector partnerships and foreign direct investments in solar and wind power projects have already proven their potential. The emergence of green finance instruments, including green bonds and sustainability-linked loans are current examples of sources of finance to meet such commitments and accelerate the scale-up of renewable energy and optimize the efficiency of renewable installations. Additional partnerships in research and development can trigger breakthroughs in energy storage and grid integration, two critical components for a renewable-powered economy.

The bigger challenge today is to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, chemicals, and heavy-duty mobility, which account for
~50 per cent of emissions, that cannot be easily solved by current solutions such as renewable energy—they require innovative and transformative solutions.  Here lies the potential for partnerships and collaborative action to fill the technology and resource gaps.

Take the example of green hydrogen, a crucial component of India’s decarbonisation strategy.  Green hydrogen has the promise to do exactly that. But it needs a lot of investment in capital-intensive areas, new technologies, and supportive infrastructure. The Government of India’s `17,490 crore outlay for the Green Hydrogen Mission is a case in point in public–private partnerships.

Collaboration is the key, from creating joint ventures for the production of hydrogen to establishing infrastructure for Green Hydrogen Hubs. Partnerships with countries already at the forefront of green hydrogen technologies, such as Germany and Japan, could facilitate India’s ability to surmount technological hurdles. Domestic partnerships could mobilize the private sector towards scaling up production and align efforts with India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision. Moreover, targeted financial support, such as the `400 crore earmarked for developing Green Hydrogen Hubs by the government, is an example of government support for enabling this transition.

Carbon-neutrality: A Shared Responsibility

Carbon neutrality will be both India’s national imperative and a global responsibility. The stakes are high—for the country and for the planet. This goal can only be achieved by harnessing partnerships across a broad group of stakeholders. Collaboration of governments, industries, academia, and communities must be fostered in order to build a resilient and sustainable future. The success of missions like the National Solar Mission and the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency relies heavily on the participation of private players.

By pooling resources, expertise, and intent, we can create a self-sustaining cycle of innovation, growth, and environmental stewardship. India has already demonstrated its capacity for growth in renewable energy. But to truly accelerate our transition to a sustainable future, the entire ecosystem must act in unison. Through partnerships, we can solidify our trajectory towards a clean energy transition and inspire a worldwide shift towards a greener, more sustainable future.

The message is clear—no single entity can tackle the climate crisis alone. Only through shared purpose and collective action can humanity turn the vision of a sustainable future into reality. #

Srivatsan Iyer is the Global CEO of Hero Future Energies.