Revision summary
COP26 produced the Glasgow Climate Pact, a coal phase-down formula, Article 6 market rules, and pressure on the USD 100 billion finance gap. India–UK Green Grids and other side deals sat beside the Pact. India’s Panchamrit includes 500 GW non-fossil capacity, 50 per cent non-fossil installed capacity by 2030, a 45 per cent GDP intensity cut, 1 billion tonnes less projected carbon, and net zero by 2070. Fifty per cent of installed capacity is not fifty per cent of the energy mix. LiFE and OSOWOG were the diplomatic companions to those numbers.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
COP26 at Glasgow in November 2021 produced the Glasgow Climate Pact and a set of side deals on methane, coal, forests, and carbon markets. India announced Panchamrit: five domestic climate numbers, including net zero by 2070 and about 50 per cent of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030. That capacity share is not a promise that half of India’s total energy mix will be renewable.
Body
Major outcomes of COP26
- The Glasgow Climate Pact asked parties to keep 1.5°C within reach and to revisit and strengthen 2030 NDCs.
- On coal, the final text used phase down of unabated coal power, not phase out, after late objection involving India and others. That wording is an outcome, not a footnote.
- Developed countries were pressed on the missed USD 100 billion climate-finance goal and asked to deliver it urgently, with a process toward a new post-2025 goal.
- Article 6 rules for cooperative carbon markets were agreed after years of deadlock, with some accounting and corresponding-adjustment language.
- Side coalitions: Global Methane Pledge (many States; India did not join that pledge), Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests, and the Green Grids Initiative–OSOWOG (India–UK).
- Adaptation, loss and damage, and a dialogue on loss and damage were pushed by developing countries; a full loss-and-damage facility was not yet created at COP26.
- Non-state net-zero announcements multiplied. Their quality varies.
India’s commitments (Panchamrit)
- Raise non-fossil installed electricity capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
- Meet 50 per cent of installed (electric) capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. Do not write this as 50 per cent of the energy mix or of total primary energy. Coal, oil, and traditional biomass still dominate energy use even when half of power capacity is non-fossil, because utilisation factors differ.
- Cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels (an update of the earlier 33–35 per cent intensity pledge).
- Reduce total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes between then and 2030.
- Achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
- India also spoke of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) as a mass behavioural complement, and co-led OSOWOG / Green Grids with the UK.
How to read the pledges
- Capacity is not generation, and generation is not the whole energy basket (heat, transport fuel).
- 2070 net zero is later than many rich-country dates, which India defends with equity and remaining carbon space.
- Implementation still depends on finance, grids, storage, and a just coal transition.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD C[COP26 Glasgow Pact] --> A[1.5 C NDCs coal phase-down] C --> F[Finance Article 6] I[India Panchamrit] --> Z[Net zero 2070] I --> K[500 GW and 50 percent non-fossil capacity] I --> T[45 percent intensity and 1 bn t] K --> N[Not 50 percent energy mix]
Conclusion
COP26’s Pact kept 1.5°C language, phased down coal, unlocked Article 6, and shamed the 100-billion gap. India’s Panchamrit set 500 GW non-fossil, a 50 per cent non-fossil capacity share, a 45 per cent intensity cut, a 1-billion-tonne reduction, and net zero in 2070 — not a 50 per cent renewable energy-mix slogan.
Quick related
Students also ask
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How does the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2020 differ from the existing EIA Notification, 2006?
Next question on this syllabus topic (2020 · Q7). View answer →
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Did India promise that half of all energy will be renewable by 2030?
No. The operational pledge is about half of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources, plus 500 GW. Transport oil and industrial heat are a different basket.
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Why did ‘phase down’ matter?
It kept coal in the text without a uniform phase-out date that India and some others rejected as inequitable.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2021 · Q6 · GS III · 10 marks
Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA) ? -
2025 · Q7 · GS III · 10 marks
What is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)? What is the potential role of CCUS in tackling climate change? -
2023 · Q18 · GS III · 15 marks
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) has predicted a global sea level rise of about one metre by AD 2100. What would be its impact in India and the other countries in the Indian Ocean region? -
2017 · Q17 · GS III · 15 marks
'Climate Change' is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change? -
2025 · Q18 · GS III · 15 marks
Write a review on India's climate commitments under the Paris Agreement (2015) and mention how these have been further strengthened in COP26 (2021). In this direction, how has the first Nationally Determined Contribution intended by India been updated in 2022?
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