India's Carbon Emissions Grew at Slowest Rate in Two Decades in 2025, Driven by Clean Energy

India's CO2 emissions grew by only 0.7% in 2025, the slowest in over two decades, primarily due to a significant fall in power-sector emissions and reduced coal and oil consumption. An analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) attributes this to record clean-energy growth, especially solar and wind, coupled with weak electricity demand. This suggests a potential 'inflection point' where clean energy could meet demand growth, though India's planned fossil-fuel expansions create uncertainty for future emissions.

India's carbon dioxide emissions in 2025 saw their slowest growth in over two decades, rising by just 0.7%, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). This marks a sharp slowdown from the 4-11% growth observed in the preceding four years and represents the lowest rate since 2001, excluding the COVID-19 impact. The primary driver was a 3.8% fall in power-sector emissions, spurred by record clean-energy additions—including 47 GW of solar and 6.3 GW of wind—which generated an additional 90 terawatt hours. This growth, combined with weak electricity demand, significantly reduced the consumption of imported coal by 20%.Oil demand also decelerated sharply, from 3.9% growth in 2024 to 0.4% in 2025, largely due to falling demand in the petrochemical and cement industries, partly influenced by increased imports of plastics from China. CREA's lead analyst, Lauri Myllyvirta, suggests India's power sector is nearing an 'inflection point' where clean energy can match or exceed electricity demand growth, potentially leading to sustained reductions in coal-fired power output and emissions. However, the report highlights a significant contradiction: despite these promising trends, India is planning major expansions in coal power, petrochemicals, and coal-based steel, posing a crucial challenge to its future emissions trajectory. While power demand is projected to rebound, new clean energy capacity is expected to cover this growth, reinforcing the potential for sustained emission control.