India scored just 2 out of 32 in the Global Climate and Health Alliance’s 2026 Healthy NDC Scorecard, highlighting major gaps in integrating public health into its climate commitments. The assessment examined 117 national climate plans covering 132 countries and found that India’s latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted on April 24, 2026, does not mention air pollution or air quality, despite estimates linking the pollution burden to approximately 2 million deaths in India in 2023. The plan commits to reducing emissions intensity of GDP by 47% from 2005 levels by 2035, achieving 60% non-fossil power capacity and expanding forest and tree cover to absorb an additional 3.5–4 billion tonnes of CO₂, but does not explicitly integrate health co-benefits or air-pollution reduction targets. India ranked joint-bottom with Japan and New Zealand, while Nepal and Sri Lanka scored 19, Bangladesh 13 and Pakistan 12; Colombia led with 29. The report acknowledges that its assessment evaluates written commitments rather than implementation and that India has separate clean-air and climate-health programmes. It nevertheless calls attention to the need to integrate emissions reduction, air-quality management, health protection and climate adaptation. The findings strengthen the case for a health-centred approach to India’s next climate commitments and place renewed emphasis on climate finance and coordinated action ahead of COP31.
Source: The Probe.in