The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned that the world could cross the 1.5°C warming threshold within the next few years, which is likely to renew calls for faster decarbonisation.

India’s choices remain open, because much of the housing, industrial infrastructure, power networks and urban development needed for its next phase of growth is yet to be built.

• NITI Aayog estimates that 86% of India’s 2070 building stock is yet to be built, with floor space rising from about 18 billion sq m (2020) to 42 billion by 2070.
• Crude-steel capacity: About 200 million tonnes (2024-25), with a target of 300 million tonnes by 2030-31.
• Cement: Output is projected to rise from about 427 million tonnes (2024) to 660 million tonnes by 2030.

Mature economies face the opposite problem.

• Advanced economies: About 80% of the building stock they will use in 2050 already exists, according to the IEA. In the EU, 85% of buildings predate 2000, and only about 1% are renovated each year.
• India’s room: India can build in efficiency from the start and avoid stranded assets and costly retrofits.
• Takeaway: The cheapest time to cut emissions is before the asset is built.

India has the code, but many states haven’t made them law.

• Patchy adoption: 27 States have announced the building code of 2017, but only 21 have made it part of their own law.
• Newer codes: ECSBC 2024 is for commercial buildings and Eco-Niwas Samhita 2024 is for homes.
• Link to permits: Rules work only if a building cannot get a permit, occupancy certificate or power connection without following them.

India is building clean power faster than the lines that carry it.

• Stranded capacity: About 60 GW of renewable power cannot be used because of transmission limits, according to the IEA.
• Growing load: About 590 GW of new generation is planned for 2023–2032, so the gap will grow.
• What to do: Plan transmission and storage together with, or before, new power plants.

The technology is not ready yet.

• Technology limits: Green steel made with hydrogen is not yet workable in India, and large-scale carbon capture in cement is further away.
• Lock-in risk: If the government forces one technology, firms may be stuck with a costly process that proves uneconomic later.
• Procurement as a tool: Governments, Railways and NHAI buy a lot of steel and cement. Their tenders can set a limit on emissions per tonne without telling producers how to make it, in line with the CCTS.

• Cost of capital: Money for large solar and wind projects costs India about 80% more than it costs advanced economies, according to the IEA.
• Targeted tools: Credit guarantees, assured payments and cheap government loans can reduce the risk for lenders.

• Implementation gap: Building codes are notified in 27 States but legally in force in only 21.
• Transmission: About 60 GW of renewable capacity is held back by network bottlenecks.
• Unready technology: Green steel and large-scale carbon capture in cement are not yet viable, and firms risk lock-in.
• Cost of capital: Financing for clean projects is far costlier than in advanced economies.
• Rising demand: Steel, cement and electricity demand will keep growing while emissions must fall.

• Net-zero target: India aims at net zero by 2070.
• Energy Conservation Act, 2001: It created the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power.
• Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022: It enables the transition of the ECBC into the Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code (ECSBC), makes the residential code mandatory and provides the base for carbon trading.
• ECSBC 2024: It covers commercial and office buildings and has three tiers: ECSBC Compliant, ECSBC Plus and Super ECSBC. The residential counterpart is ENS 2024.
• Carbon Credit Trading Scheme: Launched in 2023 under the Energy Conservation Act, it is an emission-intensity-based market administered by BEE and covers nine industrial sectors.
• CCUS scheme: The Union Budget 2026-27 allocated ₹20,000 crore over five years for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in power, steel, cement, refineries and chemicals.