Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal, while delivering the keynote address at the ‘Advancing Resilience with Climate Change’ dialogue in New Delhi, highlighted India’s strong global standing in climate action, renewable energy expansion, and economic resilience.
He stated that India ranks among the top global performers in achieving its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), consistently placing in the top 1–3 positions within the G20. He noted that India has already achieved around 260 GW of renewable energy capacity, meeting its earlier targets eight years ahead of schedule. The Minister recalled that the solar energy target, initially set at 20 GW over a decade, was scaled up to 100 GW under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and successfully achieved on time. India has now set a target of 500 GW of clean energy capacity by 2030.
Shri Goyal also underscored India’s pivotal role at COP21 in Paris, where it helped bring together developed and developing nations to reach a consensus-based climate agreement, emphasizing national flexibility in setting targets. He highlighted India’s transformation from a passive participant to a global leader in climate negotiations.
On global economic engagement, the Minister said India is actively pursuing trade and partnership discussions with multiple countries and regions, including Peru, Chile, Canada, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and neighbouring regions, Brazil, Russia, Eurasian countries, and Israel. He noted that global recognition of India’s growth story is strengthening opportunities for Indian businesses across international markets.
Emphasizing policy reforms, Shri Goyal said climate action in India has shifted from being seen as a constraint to an economically viable pathway. He highlighted that renewable energy growth is driving jobs, investment, and export potential across sectors such as capital goods, power equipment, technology, and services.
He further detailed major structural reforms in the power sector, including the development of a unified national grid under the “One Nation, One Grid” initiative. He explained that grid integration has significantly reduced regional power disparities and improved efficiency, bringing down peak power costs from about ₹12 per unit to nearly ₹2.5–3 per unit while optimizing generation capacity. He also highlighted expansion of transmission infrastructure and revival of stalled power projects.
The Minister noted that extensive renewable energy planning studies have supported India’s long-term infrastructure strategy. He also cited India’s rapid transition to LED lighting as a major success story in energy efficiency and carbon reduction, achieved within three years.
Highlighting behavioural and systemic changes, Shri Goyal stressed the importance of energy conservation, efficiency, and collective action from individuals, industries, and institutions to achieve climate goals.
Concluding his address, he invoked the principle of trusteeship, emphasizing humanity’s responsibility toward future generations and calling for collective efforts to ensure climate justice, equity, and sustainability.
During the event, Shri Goyal also launched the Climate Resilience Analytics and Visualisation Intelligence System (CRAVIS), developed by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The AI-powered platform integrates over 40 years of climate data with projections up to 2070, enabling district-level analysis across 279 indicators. It combines datasets from institutions including IMD and IITM Pune and provides interactive dashboards, maps, and natural language-based insights to support climate-informed decision-making.
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