India’s emissions growth slows in 2025, growing just 0.7% from the year before, which is the slowest increase the country’s seen in more than 20 years, and a couple of reasons: renewable energy really took off, and electricity demand stayed low. India’s energy mix is beginning to shift, with clean energy making up more of the picture. Fossil fuels are still in the game, but they’re losing ground; the rate at which their use is growing has dropped off a cliff compared to the past. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, along with Carbon Brief, looked into all this, and their research suggests India’s actually starting to turn a corner on emissions intensity.

What Drove the Sharp Slowdown in India’s Emissions Growth?

• Record renewable capacity additions: India saw record additions of renewable energy capacity, including 47 GW of solar power, 6.3 GW of wind power, 4 GW of hydro power, and 0.6 GW of nuclear power capacity additions in 2025, which resulted in a reduction of dependence on coal-based power.
• Weak electricity demand growth: The growth of electricity demand slowed down, resulting in a reduction of coal-based power, which had a direct impact on the overall coal-based power generated.
• Decline in power-sector emissions: India saw a sharp fall of 3.8% in power sector emissions during 2025, which is the steepest fall after the COVID-19 pandemic since 1973.
• Coal output disruption: India saw coal-fired power generation dip for the first time since 1973, except during the pandemic.

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How Is Renewable Energy Reshaping India’s Power Mix?

• Solar dominance rising: The rise of solar power in India, which has seen the country rapidly expand its solar power capacity, continues to reduce its marginal reliance on fossil fuels, thereby stabilizing the country’s emissions trajectory.
• Wind and hydro support grid balance: The cumulative capacity additions of wind and hydro power in 2025 helped to balance the peak power demand.
• Fossil fuel displacement trend: The expansion of clean energy capacity has directly offset the rise of coal usage in the country, especially during the day.
• Industrial emissions offset effect: The power sector emissions decline was offset by a marginal rise in steel and cement emissions, which helped to balance the overall CO2 emissions trajectory of the country.

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How Does India Compare Globally in Emissions Trends?

India’s emissions growth slows in 2025, which is less than the range of 4% to 11% over the last 4 years (except for distortions caused by the pandemic), due to energy transitions that have been made because of policies and renewable investments that were made by the market. The statistics provided also show that there is structural decoupling between economic growth and emissions growth.

China saw CO₂ emissions decline 0.3% during the same period, demonstrating the different regional energy paths being taken by both countries. Analysts believe that while India is still growing its demand for energy, the new renewable energy projects that are currently being enabled have slowed the growth of India’s emissions intensity in the long run.

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