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COP27: India’s updated NDCs insufficient for cutting emissions, shows report
India’s updated Nationally Determined Commitments (NDC) are strong on paper but not to drive down more emissions compared to the previous commitment, according to a report released at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.India has not put out details of the 2070 Net Zero target announced at COP26 last year, the report by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) mentioned.
“India will meet their NDC and overachieve it. Still, the targets need to get more ambitious to reach the 1.5°C target,” Claire Stockwell, Senior Climate Policy Analyst at Climate Analytics, told Down To Earth (DTE).
The Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming to below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industry levels.However, she added that considering the fairness perspective, India does not need to do this independently. The country has to be supported by international finance.
“What we are looking forward to from the Indian government is that they put forward their ambitious target and get more international finance to support that,” she explained.
At COP 26 in Glasgow, India announced five new targets, some of which were submitted in the updated NDC in 2022.These include strengthening its 2030 emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 from its 2005 levels and targeting about 50 per cent of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
“We need to see a further strengthening of these targets to drive further emission reductions,” Stockwell said.
India has shown progress in its renewable energy installation, it said. But the government plans to add more coal capacity and increase fossil gas in the energy mix, the report added.India and 27 other countries updated their NDCs this year, of which CAT analysed 10.
Five countries had stronger NDC targets, while the rest, including India, did not increase ambition, the report found.The largest emitters, the United States, European Union and China, have not submitted updated targets, Mia Moisio from the NewClimate Institute said at a press briefing.
Australia, Thailand, the UAE and Norway have shown ambition in the updated commitments, but they are still not aligned with the Paris Agreement goal.The world is headed for a 2.4°C of warming under the current 2030 targets, the experts warned.
“It is the same as last year. There has been no change since Glasgow,” Stockwell said.
Some nations have, however, announced binding targets. That could take us to 2°C warming.
“This has been a year of little action on the climate: Almost no updated national climate targets for 2030 and no significant increase in participation in Glasgow initiatives on coal phase-out, clean cars and methane,” Niklas Höhne of CAT partner organisation NewClimate Institute, said in a statement. – Down to Earth
The CAT report also highlighted that climate finance from developed countries is nowhere close to what developing countries need to reduce emissions.
Funds from the United States, Russia and Australia have been rated critically insufficient, while that from European Union, Germany, Norway and Switzerland were rated as insufficient, the report said.Only Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom provided sufficient funding.In 2009, developed countries pledged to mobilise $100 billion in climate finance to support climate action in developing countries. This goal has not been met.
“There is a lack of leadership in climate finance,” Moisio said. They have come here [CoP27] without delivering on the $100 billion target, he added. – Down to Earth
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Iran has sought the Indian intervention, at the highest level, to provide lifesaving support to the crews of empty Iranian vessels stranded just outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical mile territorial waters off Galle.
Sources familiar with the issue said that Iran had brought the developing situation to the attention of New Delhi as the crews of almost 20 vessels, included Indian nationals. Sources stressed that the group of vessels that unloaded crude oil a couple of months back were now stranded within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The US Navy torpedoed an unarmed Iran frigate, returning from India, on 04 March, 2026, about 19 nautical miles off the Galle coast. The unprovoked attack killed nearly 100 Iranians.
The Iranian Embassy in Colombo has inquired from the Indian High Commission of their response to the situation, sources said. The US has issued a global warning against providing food, water, medicine and other services to the Iranian vessels. The outcome of Iran-India talks on the issue at hand was not known, though sources asserted India may not throw its weight behind Iranian efforts to address the issue.
Responding to The Island queries, sources said both Sri Lanka and India were in a dilemma due to the US warning. India couldn’t ignore the plight of the Indian crew members and the Iranian vessels in its backyard.
The Sri Lankan government remains tight-lipped about the vessels stranded in its EEZ. Our efforts to elicit a response from relevant authorities were in vain. In addition to Indians, there are Bangladeshis among the crew members. Iran has explicitly stated the responsibilities of the countries concerned to provide assistance in terms of international law.
The Iranian position was articulated by its Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dr.Alireza Delkhosh, recently. In a special statement, Ambassador Delkhosh emphasised that in terms of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 98) as well as SOLAS and SAR
Conventions, Sri Lanka couldn’t refrain from providing the needs of the Iranian vessels stranded in its EEZ.
SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem lambasted the NPP government in Parliament for failing to provide assistance to the Iranian ships. The former Minister alleged that the government was simply carrying out dictates of the US. He strongly criticised the way Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath was handling the issue.
MP Namal Rajapaksa, who is in remand custody over the controversial Airbus deal, was further remanded until October 27 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court yesterday (13).
Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama made the order after considering submissions by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and lawyers representing Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to sustain its recovery over the next two years, although growth is projected to moderate amid mounting global uncertainties, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook.
In its World Economic Outlook 2026: Resilience Under Strain, Urgent Choices, the IMF projects Sri Lanka’s economy to expand by 4% in 2026, slowing to 3.7% in 2027, following estimated growth of 5% in 2025.
Inflation, meanwhile, is forecast to rise to 5.3% in 2026 and 5.4% in 2027, reversing the average deflation rate of 0.5% recorded in 2025.
Unemployment is expected to remain steady at 3.9% throughout the forecast period.
The projections come amid growing pressure on the global economy from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, elevated energy prices, geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions.
Sri Lanka’s external position is also expected to weaken, with the current account balance projected to shift from a surplus of 1.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 to deficits of 0.5% in 2026 and 0.3% in 2027.
The IMF’s outlook points to continued economic expansion in Sri Lanka, but with slower growth, rising inflation and a narrowing external surplus giving way to current account deficits over the forecast period.
Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central, and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura district.
Sri Lanka, India caught in US-Iran ship crisis
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