India achieved the slowest growth in carbon dioxide emissions among the world's three largest polluters in 2025, with emissions increasing by just 0.6 per cent to 2.96 billion tonnes. According to calculations based on the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2026, this represents a significant deceleration from the 4.4 per cent growth recorded in 2024 and the average annual growth of 3.4 per cent during 2015-2025. The United States emerged as the biggest contributor to global emissions growth, with emissions rising 3.1 per cent to 4.75 billion tonnes of CO2, while China's emissions increased 0.7 per cent to 11.2 billion tonnes. As per the Energy Institute report, this growth was the lowest on record except 2020, which saw the pandemic-induced shutdown, making it the slowest rise in carbon emissions since the pandemic.
The lower emissions growth was primarily driven by milder temperatures during the monsoon season, which substantially reduced cooling demand and electricity demand growth, according to the Energy Institute report. Coal remained India's largest source of energy, accounting for 59 per cent of total supply, followed by oil at 28 per cent. However, in contrast to historical trends, no overall growth occurred in India's fossil fuel consumption in 2025, with gas consumption falling by 5.9 per cent, coal consumption growing by only 0.6 per cent, and oil by 0.3 per cent. This decline was attributed to a mixture of weather-driven and structural effects, with fossil fuels making up 93 per cent of India's energy supply despite the overall consumption decline.
India set new records for wind and solar power generation in 2025, with behind-the-meter solar capacity increasing by 40 per cent year-on-year to 43.6 GW, representing the largest increase outside China. Alongside favorable hydrological conditions, these factors led to a 3 per cent decline in coal-fired power generation and a 15 per cent fall in gas-based generation. However, inadequate transmission infrastructure continued to constrain greater integration of renewable energy despite rapid capacity additions over the past five years. The report notes that good hydro conditions further boosted renewables' output, contributing to the record-breaking performance in renewable energy generation.
Global CO2 emissions from the energy sector rose 1.1 per cent to 35.8 billion tonnes in 2025, while emissions from energy, gas flaring and methane increased 1.1 per cent to 41 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The Asia-Pacific region remained the world's largest emitter, accounting for 54 per cent of global emissions from energy, or 19.2 billion tonnes of CO2. North America recorded the second-highest regional growth rate at 2.7 per cent and the largest increase in absolute terms at 152.3 million tonnes of CO2, reversing the region's 10-year declining trend. Remarkably, 36 per cent of the global rise in emissions was attributed to the US, with its year-on-year growth almost three times the global expansion rate.
