Modi Counters Western Emissions Narrative at NGT Climate Conference

India has repeatedly emphasized the disparity between historical emitters and developing nations in multilateral climate forums. Modi highlighted India’s record of meeting its Paris Agreement commitments ahead of schedule, a claim echoed across several outlets.

India’s per capita carbon emissions below half global average; developing nations wrongly blamed: PM Modi

• Per-capita CO2 emissions (2024): 2.1-2.2 tonnes per person (PRS Legislative Research/Times of India).

PM Modi pushes back on West’s narrative over carbon emissions

• Global average: 4.7 tonnes per person.

PM Modi pushes back on West’s narrative over carbon emissions

• United States: 13.4 tonnes; China: 8.9 tonnes; EU: 5.4 tonnes.

PM Modi pushes back on West’s narrative over carbon emissions

• India’s share of global CO2 emissions (2024): ?8 %.

PM Modi pushes back on West’s narrative over carbon emissions

• Renewable capacity: Solar grew from 2 GW (2012) to 160 GW.

The Indian Express

• EV sales: 25 lakh units in the previous year, up from 3 000 in 2014.

The Indian Express

• Metro networks: Expanded from <250 km in five cities (pre-2014) to >1 000 km across 20 cities.

The Indian Express

Modi framed India’s climate stance as a blend of development and sustainability, citing solar, wind, hydropower, electric-vehicle adoption and railway electrification as evidence of “speedy and sustainable” progress.

The Indian Express

Chief Justice Surya Kant described a shift from a binary “conservation versus development” debate to one of harmonisation, calling the Supreme Court the “banyan tree” of environmental justice.

The Indian Express

• “Often, the responsibility for carbon emissions has been wrongly placed on developing countries. While the historical truth is this... even today, India's contribution to per capita carbon emissions is less than half of the global average,” — Narendra Modi.

India’s per capita carbon emissions below half global average; developing nations wrongly blamed: PM Modi

• “Over the past 12 years, in every field related to the environment, in every sector... India has made extraordinary progress. Our major focus has been on renewable energy, and this has played a significant role in environmental protection ,” — Narendra Modi.

India’s per capita carbon emissions below half global average; developing nations wrongly blamed: PM Modi

Sources differ on the exact per-capita emission figure for India in 2024: News18 cites 2.1 tonnes, while the Times of India reports 2.2 tonnes. Both agree the figure is less than half the global average, but the precise number remains unverified.

CNN-News18

The conference will continue on the following day, with a valedictory session slated to include President Droupadi Murmu. Discussions aim to produce a roadmap for future environmental governance and address policy gaps identified during the meeting.

CNN-News18