India needs $10 trillion for net-zero goal; green finance moral obligation of Global North: Bhupender Yadav
The Union environment minister made it clear that India believes the developed countries have the moral responsibility to support the Global South.
India will need investments exceeding $10 trillion by 2070 to achieve its net-zero target, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Thursday. Speaking at FICCI LEADS 2025, Yadav cited a 2023 Reserve Bank of India estimate, which projected about ₹85.6 trillion ($1.05 trillion) by 2030 required to help industries adapt to climate norms.
India has three key principles on climate finance — that climate finance is development finance, clean power and efficient cities are the foundation for energy security, and countries that mobilise green investment now will own the value chains, he said.
Yadav also made it clear that India believes 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,” he said.
“India is moving ahead with three clear understandings. 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,”.
“Countries that mobilise green investment now will own the value chains of tomorrow,” he said while cautioning that public money would not be sufficient to address the scale of the problem at hand.
The minister further said, “The Modi 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.”
His remarks have come ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP30) scheduled to be held in Belem in November.
“People must be at the centre of green finance, 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 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 further cautioned, “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.”
