All over the world, the natural environment is in serious decline. This decline is the outcome of the dismal failure of sovereign states and other actors to respond to the rising challenges effectively. In this backdrop, this research aims to assess the role played by India and the other actors in the evolving international scenario.
During past few decades, India’s role in global climate governance has undergone major changes from a protest voice during 1970s and 1980s to actively shaping international efforts in restricting environmental degradation. India’s approach to global environmental politics has been shaped by its massive developmental needs on the one hand and a commitment to climate justice on the other. The 1972 Stockholm conference was the starting point of a series of negotiations and discussions over international environmental agreement in the backdrop of India’s advocacy that historically polluting developed nations must take primary responsibility for environmental degradation; while maintaining Global South’s right to move forward with industrialisation and economic growth. The 1992 Rio Earth Summit however formed the basis of international cooperation on environmental issues.
Today, as part of its foreign policy objectives, India proactively shares greater responsibility in management of the global commons by moving away from highlighting the issues of environmental colonialism in the 1980s towards the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and proactive engagement in climate governance framework. At the UN Climate Change Conference held in Brazil in November 2025, New Delhi pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2070 and committed to meeting 50 percent of its cumulative electric power installed from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. In this backdrop, the present paper aims to identify the key factors responsible for shift in India’s environment policy that aims to balance between massive developmental needs and climate justice within a neoliberal framework.
The paper aims to address the following important questions:
(i) Why the sovereign states are ill equipped in tackling decline of the global natural environment;
(ii) What are the compelling factors behind shift in India’s environment policy?
(iii) How far India is equipped in addressing the issue of climate change?