FEDERAL INDIA AT THE CLIMATE CROSSROADS: AFTER COP30, WILL WE CHOOSE SOLIDARITY OR SINKING? WINDOW CLOSING, POLITICS DRIFTING

Introduction

India returned from COP30 in Belem, Brazil, with fine words and diplomatic smiles. But beneath the gloss lies a dangerous gap between rhetoric and readiness. COP30 in Belem has told the world a blunt truth. The Amazon summit reminded the world that the 1.5°C threshold is no longer a distant danger. It is now a breached boundary. The guardrail has been breached; the window for meaningful action is narrow and shrinking fast. For a federal, climate‑fragile India, this is not an abstract alarm. It is a warning about food on the plate, water in the tap, and roofs over the heads of millions from Ladakh to Kanyakumari. Yet New Delhi still prefers incrementalism, slogans and optics to deep structural change.​

COP30 placed responsibility squarely before emerging economies. And for the Global South Asia, the call is unmistakable — we survive only if we stand together. Not as isolated nation-states, but as a region with shared rivers, winds, forests, oceans, and destinies. This region in particular, stands on the frontline of a warming planet. Its parliamentarians have responded with a call for climate solidarity — a regional architecture that can pool knowledge, technology and finance through a proposed South Asian Climate Cooperation Council (SACCC). India should have been its boldest champion. Instead, domestic politics, Centre–state tensions and short‑term economic calculations blunt its response. ​

Indians are scorched by heatwaves, drowned by floods, uprooted by storms, and suffocated by smog. Yet in New Delhi, the climate file gathers dust. Commitments melt like Himalayan glaciers. Promises evaporate like parched reservoirs in Vidarbha, Kutch and Bundelkhand. India’s federal structure, once imagined as a dynamic balance between Centre and States, today resembles a climate gridlock. We speak of climate justice, while lakhs breathe toxic air. We speak of transition, while coal expansion marches on.

Here we argue for climate federalism and regional solidarity, expose the political ill-will slowing urgent reform, and offers a roadmap for real action. No diplomatic cushioning. Time is too short for soft language. In sharp clear voice and with strong words this uncompromising truth must to told: Federal India needs climate solidarity.

One Climate, One Future

South Asia is not a collection of independent climates. It is a single ecological pulse. When Bangladesh sinks, West Bengal shivers. When the Hindu Kush melts, Punjab dries. When the Maldives drowns, Kerala’s coast retreats. When Sri Lanka burns, Tamil Nadu feels the heat. The region is warming faster than the global average. If the trajectory continues, by 2050 South Asia may lose 1.8% of annual GDP, erase millions of jobs, kill thousands through heat stress, and displace entire cultures. Seasonal rhythms are breaking. Traditional agriculture falters. Fisherfolk sail farther for fewer fish. Forest dwellers walk longer for water. The tragedy is not only climatic — it is political. We know what must be done. We simply refuse to do it, fast.

COP30: A Mirror the World May Not Like

The Amazon meeting shouted one truth: Paris has failed us. Not the Agreement, but the ambition behind it. Too little, too late. Too dependent on voluntary goodwill in a world powered by coal, greed, and nationalistic hoarding of resources.

At COP30, the Global South demanded climate finance, technology access, adaptation funding, and equitable carbon space. India spoke of stewardship, lifestyle change, and Mission LiFE. But at home, ministries bicker, state governments plead for funds, and climate action depends on bureaucratic goodwill. Political parties trade climate for votes. Industry lobbies drown science with sponsorships.

The summit urged a new architecture — one built on South-South cooperation, shared technology, cross-border power lines, and pooled finance. Leaders’ suggested SACCC is a brilliant proposal. India should be anchor, not observer. But New Delhi’s climate diplomacy moves like a bullock cart on a six-lane highway. The world is burning. India cannot afford lethargy.

The Problem: Climate Ambition Without Accountability

India talks climate transition. But the reality reveals contradictions: Coal capacity is expanding; Forests shrink under ‘development’; River linking threatens fragile ecosystems; Cities choke under PM2.5 deposits; EV policy remains patchy and urban-elitist; Climate budgets shrink when GDP slows.

States demand a share in climate policy. But decisions remain centralized. Funds trickle unevenly. Climate disasters become political scoreboards instead of lessons. The Centre promises green hydrogen, solar parks, and circular economy models, but policy execution remains weak, fragmented, and unmonitored. We have climate intent. We lack climate integrity

A federation on the front line

South Asia risks losing nearly 1.8 per cent of annual GDP by 2050 from extreme heat, sea‑level rise, floods and droughts. India will bear a heavy share of that loss. The Indo‑Gangetic plain now faces deadly wet‑bulb temperatures more often; coastal districts from Kutch to the Sundarbans are eroding and salinating; the Himalayan arc is warming faster than the global average. These are not distant forecasts but lived experience after each monsoon and each cyclone. ​

Federal India adds another layer of complexity. Energy, forests, water and urban development are deeply shared or state subjects under the Constitution. Climate policy cannot be executed from a single ministry in Delhi; it demands genuine cooperative federalism, with empowered states and panchayats, transparent revenue‑sharing, and room for local innovation. Instead, climate has become another arena for centralised control through centrally sponsored schemes, politically timed clearances and selective allocation of green funds. ​

A Federal Climate Compact: The Only Way Forward

Climate cannot be solved by one ministry. Or one political party. Or one election cycle.
We need a National Climate Solidarity Pact, binding Centre and States to measurable action. Not advisory. Mandatory.

The Key pillars are: 1. Green Federal Fund (GFF): A pooled national account, co-financed by Centre, States, CSR, and international climate finance. Allocation linked to verified outcomes — renewable generation, wetlands restored, waste reduced, mangroves planted. 2. State Climate Rights Charter: Legal recognition of each state’s right to carbon budget, clean air, safe water, and disaster compensation. No more discretionary relief. Compensation must be rule-based and time-bound. 3. District-level Climate Councils: Climate governance must begin at panchayat and municipal levels. These councils monitor groundwater, waste, emissions, crop shifts, and early warnings. Local database. Local accountability. 4. Climate Education in Every Syllabus: Not elective. Core compulsory. From Class 1 to universities. Science meets ethics. Policy meets citizenship. India needs not only solar farms — but climate-literate citizens.

Regional Action: South Asia Must Breathe Together

Climate does not stop at Wagah, Petrapole, Lipulekh, Phungling or Talaimannar. We must think beyond borders. COP30 gave us structural ideas worth adopting immediately:

South Asian Climate Cooperation Council (SACCC): A permanent body of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan. Research + finance + policy integration. Political disagreements cannot freeze environmental collaboration.

Regional Knowledge & Innovation Centres: Distributed hubs, each with elite specialization: Maldives — coastal resilience, corals, island water security; Sri Lanka — mangroves, 30x30 conservation model; Bhutan — mindful green cities, forest governance; India — grid integration, renewable scaling, green hydrogen. Knowledge must be shared, not patented for geopolitical leverage.

 South Asia Green Climate Finance Facility: One regional fund. One pipeline.
Many investors. Issue regional climate bonds. Invite World Bank, ADB, GCF. Fund cross-border renewables, Himalayan glaciers monitoring, Bay of Bengal cyclone defence, Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra River conservation.

A South Asian Scientific Commission: Independent. Fiercely evidence-driven. Zero political interference. Let science lead. Not propaganda.

India’s Ill-Will and half‑measured policy

Let us speak plainly. India went to COP30 projecting itself as a “climate leader of the Global South,” highlighting Mission LiFE, solar expansion and green hydrogen announcements. The narrative was polished. The domestic record is mixed. The current dispensation prides itself on big slogans, global summits, green speeches. But when policy demands sacrifice, dialogue, and power-sharing — the government blinks. Coal lobbies overpower renewable urgency. State consultations are cosmetic, not collaborative. New coal mines and coal‑based power plants continue to receive clearances, locking in emissions and air pollution for decades. ​

Environmental Impact Assessments are diluted or fast‑tracked; public hearings are treated as hurdles, not democratic rights. Civil society activism is criminalised. Forest and coastal regulations have been loosened to favour infrastructure and extractive projects, from highways through tiger corridors to ports in fragile coastal belts. Forests opened to mining are rebranded as ‘eco-tourism’. The pattern is clear. Climate action remains secondary to short-term capital, electoral populism, and majoritarian political narratives. Climate finance is highly centralised, with state governments and local bodies struggling to access predictable adaptation funds. Climate refugees do not vote as blocs. Melting glaciers have no lobbyists. We know well, without political courage, even the best international frameworks collapse. Such choices reveal a form of political ill‑will: not open denial of climate science, but a persistent refusal to align fiscal priorities, land‑use decisions and industrial policy with the scale of the crisis flagged at COP30.

Climate solidarity: a test for Delhi

The recent Indian Express piece by South Asian MPs suggests a clear three‑pillar design for regional climate solidarity: a knowledge and innovation hub, a green climate finance facility, and a scientific commission for South Asia. India is pivotal to all three. Its power grid already enables cross‑border electricity trade under the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation; a trilateral line sends power from Nepal to Bangladesh through Indian territory; and the “One Sun One World One Grid” idea is on the table. ​

But regional diplomacy has been uneven. India’s relations with Pakistan are frozen; SAARC is dormant; even with friendlier neighbours, New Delhi often prefers bilateral deals that underline asymmetry rather than shared governance. If India wants to be taken seriously as a climate leader after COP30, it must reverse this pattern and actively build the SACCC architecture, not merely tolerate it. ​

Concrete proposals for a reluctant government

The present dispensation can still pivot from symbolism to substance. That requires decisions that cut across ministries, parties and electoral cycles. The following proposals are politically tough but technically feasible.

1. Make climate federalism real

Constitutional climate council: Establish a permanent National Climate and Just Transition Council under Article 263, with chief ministers, Union ministers and representatives of scheduled areas and islands. It should clear major energy, mining and infrastructure plans for climate compatibility and just‑transition impacts.

Predictable state climate finance: Earmark a fixed share of GST or cess revenues for a State Climate Action Fund, allocated by transparent formulae based on vulnerability and performance, not party alignment. ​

City‑level adaptation compacts: Sign climate adaptation compacts with key metros and vulnerable coastal and Himalayan cities, linking extra finance to hard commitments on heat‑action plans, flood‑resilient zoning and nature‑based solutions.

2. Draw a red line under new coal

COP30’s message implies an urgent phase‑down of unabated coal. India need not shut mines overnight, but it must stop expanding the problem. ​

No‑new‑coal moratorium for post‑2030 projects: Announce that no new greenfield coal plants will be approved beyond those already in the pipeline, and that any replacement capacity after 2030 will be renewable or storage‑backed.

Just transition plans for coal districts: Mandate detailed transition roadmaps for districts in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal, including retraining funds, health remediation, and diversification into solar manufacturing, agro‑processing and ecosystem restoration. International climate finance can be sought around these plans. ​

3. Put adaptation at the centre of fiscal policy

For millions of Indians, adaptation is not a side‑issue; it is survival.

National Adaptation Budget Statement: Present, alongside the Union Budget, an annual statement of adaptation spending across ministries — water, health, agriculture, housing, rural development — with measurable outcomes.

Gram sabha climate rights: Amend relevant laws so that gram sabhas in scheduled and coastal areas can veto or demand redesign of projects that raise local climate risk, including mangrove destruction or groundwater over‑extraction.

Insurance and social protection for climate shocks: Scale up subsidised crop and health insurance bundled with universal basic services — safe drinking water, primary health, public housing retrofits — in districts classified as climate “hotspots.”

4. Lead, not lag, on South Asian cooperation

India’s size should be an asset, not a threat, in building regional climate solidarity.

Champion the SACCC: Offer to host the secretariat of the South Asian Climate Cooperation Council on a rotational basis, with a clear pledge: decisions will be consensus‑based; small states will have equal voice in scientific panels and finance boards. ​

Share grid and data: Fast‑track the One Sun One World One Grid initiative in South Asia, with open access rules and transparent pricing, while also supporting common climate‑data platforms on monsoon behaviour, glacier melt and cyclone patterns. ​

Co‑branded regional projects: Develop flagship regional projects — a Bay of Bengal mangrove belt, a Himalayan glacier observatory network, a South Asian heat‑health early‑warning system — and pitch them jointly to the Green Climate Fund and multilateral banks. ​

5. Clean up domestic climate governance

Political ill‑will thrives in opacity. Sunlight can change incentives.

Independent Indian Climate Commission: Set up a statutory body with scientists, economists and social representatives to review progress against India’s NDCs, net‑zero pathways and loss‑and‑damage needs, and to publish periodic “state of the climate” reports. Model it on the UK Climate Change Committee but tailor it to India’s federal context. ​

Transparent carbon accounting: Mandate standardised corporate climate disclosures, including Scope 3 emissions for large fossil‑fuel and cement firms, with independent verification.

Citizen climate dashboards: Create open dashboards mapping air quality, heat‑risk, flood‑prone zones and project clearances, so citizens, courts and media can hold all levels of government accountable.

6. Put vulnerable communities at the table

Climate solidarity means solidarity first with India’s own most exposed citizens.

Institutional voice: Reserve seats for representatives of coastal fishers, forest‑dwelling communities, informal workers and people with disabilities in national and state climate councils.

Loss‑and‑damage registry: Develop a transparent registry that documents climate‑linked displacement, livelihood loss and cultural erosion — especially in the Sundarbans, Kutch, coastal Odisha and Himalayan valleys — to inform domestic compensation schemes and international negotiations.

Cultural resilience: Support local languages, rituals and knowledge systems that carry memory of floods, droughts and storms; climate policy should not erase these but learn from them. ​

The Road India Must Walk

Here are concrete, time-bound proposals for the present government. Not wishful. Implementable.

Legally-binding Net Zero Accountability: Every ministry must file annual decarbonization report cards. Missed targets face budget penalties.

Phase-down Coal, Not Expand It: Freeze new coal approvals. Redirect subsidies to solar rooftops and community-owned renewables.

            50-City Clean Air Mission: Mandatory pollution budgets. Daily violation fines. Clean fuel transition for industry within five years.

National Water Security Act: Glacier protection. Wetland revival. Ban river sand mining in critical zones. Waste-water recycling targets for every state.

A Tribal-Led Forest Restoration Corps: Indigenous communities must lead conservation. Protect rights. Share profits. Stop extractive displacement.

Agro-Ecology Transition: Minimum 30% of agriculture under organic, regenerative and climate-resilient cropping by 2035. MSP support for millets and climate-fit crops.

Bay of Bengal Cyclone Defence Shield: Mangrove belts. Floating solar. Coastal embankments. Evacuation tech. Regional data sharing with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

A Closing Warning

South Asia stands at the mouth of a furnace. The monsoon is mutating. Rivers carry salt instead of sweetness. Farmers bury crops. Cities drown overnight. Summer kills. Winter dries. The poor lose homes first. Women walk farthest for water. Children breathe the dirtiest air. We need federal cooperation. Regional cooperation. Climate justice rooted in science, not slogans. The clock is not ticking. It is ringing. After COP30, history will not judge us by speeches. It will judge us by survival. India can do all this. We simply lack political will. India must lead — or the region sinks together.