India's ambitious climate goals are overshadowed by the neglect of marginalised communities, who bear the brunt of climate change impacts.
While renewable energy projects are lauded globally, they often exclude vulnerable groups, exacerbating inequality.
A fair transition requires community-driven solutions, equitable policies, and inclusive decision-making.
As India works toward a greener future, the gap between the language of ambitious climate goals and the lives of marginalised groups is getting bigger.
India's shift towards renewable energy has been hailed globally as a sign of progress and leadership. But behind it is a quieter, more disturbing story of people least responsible for climate crisis dealing with its worst effects.
The country's climate policy has become more ambitious and broad over the past decade. Big investments in solar parks, green hydrogen and big infrastructure are expected to change the way the country gets its energy.
But these policies are often made and carried out without fully considering social equity — who benefits, who bears the risks and who is completely left out.
Rural and energy-poor communities, particularly in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and parts of northeast, are directly affected by such inequality.
Here, climate-related calamities such as floods, droughts and cyclones have increased in frequency and severity. However, these are also the locations with the lowest levels of investment in adaptation and resilience.
A monsoon failure or embankment breach can plunge entire communities into deeper poverty, affecting not only livelihoods but also education, health and food security.
At the same time, India’s desire for large-scale renewable projects frequently ignores these very people. Some communities are suffering because big solar and wind farms want to buy their land. For a lot of people, the green transition means relocating, losing their homes and not being able to take advantage of the clean energy being produced at their cost.
Climate justice is more than just a moral obligation; it means setting fair standards that take into account how vulnerable different groups are and figuring out how to fairly share the costs and benefits of climate change mitigation. We need to make sure that the poorest people not only get help and have a say in policy decisions but also help find solutions.
Some countries are trying out decentralised renewable energy models. In these, communities can make, own and control their own clean energy. These projects don't get enough money in India, even though they could help rural people get energy security, create jobs and help the climate.
The next few years will be very important. As India sets more ambitious goals for renewable energy and the world gets warmer, the cost of ignoring climate justice will only go up. This will affect everyone, not just the poor, and it will also make the energy and development environments less stable. If climate action makes inequality worse while lowering emissions, it can't be called a success. The green transition needs to be fair and quick. India's climate policies can only be fair and long-lasting if this happens.
Investing in adaptation led by the community is not only the right thing to do, but it is also necessary. Local communities often know a lot about the area around them, which makes them great partners in coming up with long-term solutions. To protect the most vulnerable people from the effects of climate change, it is important to strengthen social safety nets, keep government honest, and make sure that everyone has access to cheap energy.
The stakes couldn't be higher — India's goals for renewable energy are growing quickly, but so are the effects of climate change. Cyclones are getting worse on the East Coast, heat waves are getting worse in central India, and dry areas are running out of water. If we don't do anything about inequality while working on climate change, the green transition could make the same inequalities that fossil fuel economies created.
India is at a crossroads. Climate ambition and fairness are not mutually exclusive. The only real choice is whether the shift will be top-down and exclusive or community-driven, equitable, and long-lasting. A green future that excludes the most vulnerable is no future at all.
Not only must political will and moral conviction drive this change, but so must technological skill. To ensure climate justice, change how decisions are made, give more weight to some voices, and spread the benefits. It means making rules that turn rural people into not only targets for climate action but also planners and people who benefit from it. This means that policymakers need to be brave, institutions need to be responsible, and civil society needs to keep pushing them. If this change doesn't happen, India could end up building a "green economy" on the same unfair foundations as the one it wants to get rid of.
In the end, India's green transformation will be judged by how much it cuts carbon emissions, not by how many megawatts or gigatons it produces. It will be judged on how well it can raise or lower people, give them power or take it away, and either fix or make worse past wrongs. To make the change fair, climate policy needs to pay as much attention to people as it does to technology. This means that energy planning should focus more on communities than on businesses. It means paying attention to the people who are directly affected by the disaster and responding quickly, honestly, and with compassion.
India could become a true world leader if it can build a green economy that is also fair. This would make it a leader in renewable energy and climate change based on fairness. If it fails to do so, the shiny solar fields and wind corridors will serve as monuments to exclusion rather than development. A fair transition is not an option. It is the cornerstone of a future worth striving for.
Anusreeta Dutta is a columnist and climate researcher with prior experience as a political researcher and ESG analyst. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.