Five years to go, India's climate action SDGs show worsening trend

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3 days ago

For the first time, India entered the top 100 countries in the annual Sustainable Development Report, which assesses progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs.
India ranked 99th out of 167 nations in the 2025 report, up from 109 in 2024 and 112 in 2023, but the data reveals that sustainability challenges remain, especially in relation to environmental goals.
This year's report shows that only one-third of India's SDG targets, meant to be achieved by 2030, are 'on track', while there is limited progress on others with some even slipping backwards.
India is firmly on track with progress on two of the 17 SDG goals, No Poverty (SDG 1) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10).
Progress on others, including Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), and Life on Land (SDG 15), is stagnating. Other goals, such as Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) and Life Below Water (SDG 14), are showing moderate improvement.
Most concerning is Climate Action (SDG 13), which shows a worsening trend, indicating that India's efforts to take action to combat climate change and its impacts are not improving. The scores signal that without a dramatic policy shift and vigorous implementation, India risks falling short of the 20230 target to achieve the SDG goals.
The annual report, released since 2016 is prepared by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network which operates under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, to drive action on the SDGs.
Water stress and coal
National statistics paint a rosy picture. India boasts nearly universal electrification, clean cooking, and safe sanitation. For instance, 80% of rural households now have an improved drinking-water source through tap water, 100% have access to electricity, and 85% use clean cooking fuel.
Yet global assessments remain cautious. The 2025 report flags India's performance on Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) as only 'moderately improving,' citing unsustainable freshwater withdrawals and the hidden toll of water‐intensive imports.
Venkatesh Dutta, a professor at School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, points out that 'we have not progressed much on water circularity', meaning the water the country pulls out isn't being reused by industry, and overall, freshwater withdrawals keep rising.
He warns that India's focus needs to shift to resource sustainability. 'Nobody is talking about resource sustainability. Your freshwater is being obstructed and it is not being returned back to nature in the state in which you took it,' he says, indicating that the country must think about what happens to water after industries use it.
Dutta adds that industrial growth often concentrates in areas already short on water, so policy must ensure that after use – especially in big clusters like power plants – water is cleaned and reused. 'Water has to be reused,' he says, suggesting rules that force industries to use treated wastewater for cooling and other needs. But at the current pace, he warns, 'we are not going to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030'.
India's progress towards Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 7, paints a similar picture, with the report noting that the country's score on this SDG is moderately improving but insufficient to attain the goal.
Access to power is nearly universal, and renewable energy capacity is expanding rapidly, yet the energy mix in India is still dominated by coal, and carbon emissions remain high. Without a faster shift to green energy, this goal will remain off track.
'We've achieved almost 100% electrification in terms of connections, but coal still provides over 70% of the electricity that flows through the grid. Renewables account for around 45% of the installed capacity, yet their share has hovered around 22%-24% in recent years in terms of actual generation. We expect coal's share to fall below 50% by 2030 as renewable capacity further expands, ' says Debajit Palit, Centre Head at the Centre for Climate Change and Energy Transition, Chintan Research Foundation.
'In absolute terms, though India ranks among the top five carbon emitters globally, yet our per-capita emissions remain extremely low. Over the last decade, our economy has grown at around 6.5 to 8% annually, while our carbon emissions have risen at only about 4%, showing we're improving the carbon intensity of our growth,' says Palit.
He also highlights the issue related to clean cooking fuel. 'LPG has helped expand clean-cooking access, but it is still a fossil fuel. The real goal is electric cooking, powered by a greener grid. This shift won't happen overnight, but we're on the right path,' notes Palit.
Sustainability falters
India is witnessing rapid urbanisation and the challenges that come with it have been documented in several reports, including the recent SDG report. It assesses India's performance on Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) using four indicators – the proportion of urban population living in slums, air pollution, access to improved water source, and public transport.
Except for the access to public transport, performance on the other three indicators is either stagnant or worsening. Nearly one in four urban Indians still lives in slums or informal settlements. Air pollution also remains severe, and this is corroborated by other reports such as a recent World Bank study that found that all of India's 1.4 billion people – 100% of the country's population – are exposed to outdoor air pollution above World Health Organization safety limits.
Reducing PM 2.5 pollution and upgrading water and housing for urban dwellers must become urgent policy priorities, says Palit.
He adds that air pollution sources are deeply embedded within city systems, from vehicular emissions, construction dust, and small-scale industries, to poorly enforced environmental regulations. 'We need a more holistic, comprehensive reform and continuous monitoring of vehicles, industries, and construction,' he says, adding that 'our enforcement is very weak.'
Citing the example of Delhi, Palit notes that despite bans on older vehicles, 95% of fitness checks are still conducted manually, making it difficult to track real-time particulate emissions. He argues for a shift toward a 'data-centric enforcement model' that can accurately monitor and regulate polluters.
Moreover, shifting polluting industries from city peripheries, such as Noida or Faridabad, faces political and economic resistance. 'The government needs to create an incentive mechanism to enable this shift,' he says.
Performance on Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 12, also remains a critical concern. While India's economic expansion has lifted millions out of poverty, it has also driven up resource extraction and pollution. Production-based air and nitrogen emissions continue to exceed safe limits, even as municipal solid-waste collection and e-waste recycling show modest improvement.
Climate and biodiversity
According to the Sustainable Development Report, India's efforts towards Climate Action, SDG13, are 'decreasing, with challenges', especially with emissions from the combustion and oxidation of fossil fuels and from cement production increasing.
India has pledged expansion of solar and wind energy and participates actively in international climate talks; however, its greenhouse gas emissions are rising as it develops. India's per capita carbon dioxide emissions from fuel and cement are still substantial (the country now emits more CO₂ in total than any nation except China and the US).
Major challenges remain in India's efforts to protect Life Below Water, SDG 14, and Life on Land, SDG 15, notes the report. Marine biodiversity protections and fish stock management show limited progress.
Fishing practices, such as trawling, are putting ocean life under strain. On land, deforestation, soil degradation, and habitat loss pose a significant risk to India's biodiversity and forest cover. Conservation programs exist, but they cannot keep up with the pace of habitat destruction.
India's rise to 99th place is a milestone, but without swift and enforceable action on water, energy, and pollution, this achievement risks being undone.