07 January 2026: MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS

MAINS Current Affairs includes Grasslands and Climate Change 2026 & India’s progress on its climate targets

Environment

1. Grasslands and Climate Change 2026

Context: The United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year for Rangelands and Pastoralists, renewing global attention on grasslands.

Recent climate negotiations continue to prioritise forests, prompting debate on why grasslands must be integrated into national climate plans and NDCs.

About Grasslands and Climate Change 2026:

What are grasslands?

Grasslands are open ecosystems dominated by grasses, with few or no trees, found across savannahs, steppes, prairies, and rangelands.
They cover ~40% of Earth’s land surface and support pastoral livelihoods, wildlife, and soil-based carbon storage.

Why grasslands matter in climate action?

Stable carbon sinks through underground sequestration: Nearly 90% of grassland carbon is stored below ground in deep root systems, protecting it from surface disturbances unlike forest biomass.
- g. Stanford University (2025) found grassland soil carbon uptake rose by 8% under higher CO₂, while forest soils showed no comparable gain.
Fire resilience and carbon permanence: Forest fires release most stored carbon instantly, whereas grassland fires leave soil carbon intact, allowing rapid ecological recovery.
- g. Western US prairie studies (2024–25) show grasslands remain net carbon sinks even under frequent fire regimes.
Natural climate cooling via albedo effect: Grasslands reflect more solar radiation than dark forest canopies, reducing local heat absorption and surface warming.
- g. IPBES Land Report (2025) highlights grasslands’ cooling role in semi-arid climate zones.
Hydrological regulation and drought buffering: Dense grass roots act as sponges, improving groundwater recharge and reducing runoff during extreme rainfall events.
- g. Senegal’s National Adaptation Plan (2025) restored 2 million hectares of grasslands in the Ferlo Reserve to curb drought–flood cycles.

Global policy bias: forests over grasslands

Forest- centric climate finance architecture: Global climate funds disproportionately target forests, sidelining grasslands despite comparable mitigation potential.
- g. COP30 (Belém, Brazil) focused heavily on forests through the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).
Institutional silos across UN conventions: Climate (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD), and desertification (UNCCD) operate separately, fragmenting grassland governance.
- g. Grasslands receive stronger recognition under UNCCD COP16 (Saudi Arabia) than under UNFCCC negotiations.
Exclusion from Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): Most countries mention forests explicitly in NDCs while ignoring grasslands as carbon sinks.
- g. India’s NDC targets 2.5–3 billion tonnes CO₂ sink via forests, omitting grasslands.
Misclassification as “wastelands”: Productive grasslands are officially labelled as degraded land, legitimising conversion.
- g. India’s Wasteland Atlas historically included grazing commons and savannah ecosystems.

Implications of declining grasslands:

Accelerated biodiversity loss: Open-habitat species face “extinction by afforestation” when trees replace grasslands.
- g. Brazil’s Cerrado loses grassland area twice as fast as the Amazon, threatening endemic fauna.
Weakened climate resilience: Degraded grasslands increase vulnerability to desertification and flash floods.
- g. Australia’s desert rangelands (2024–25) show rising flood–drought volatility due to invasive buffel grass.
Loss of pollination services: Grasslands support pollinators critical to global food systems.
- g. FAO estimates grassland-dependent pollinators support ~35% of global crop production.
Displacement of pastoral and indigenous communities: Conversion restricts mobility and traditional livelihoods.
- g. Charanka Solar Park, Gujarat (2025) displaced semi-nomadic herders by fencing grassland commons.

The way forward:

Recognise grasslands as Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs): Shift policy language from “wastelands” to ecologically valuable systems.
- g. India (2026) moving toward ONE classification in land-use planning.
Integrate grasslands into NDCs: Explicit inclusion unlocks climate finance and policy priority.
- g. Brazilian researchers (2025) urged inclusion of Cerrado grasslands in national NDC updates.
Adopt ecosystem-based climate planning: Balance forests, grasslands, wetlands, and mangroves in mitigation strategies.
- g. WWF–IUCN report (COP30) recommended cross-biome carbon accounting.
Secure community land rights and governance: Indigenous stewardship improves ecological outcomes.
- g. Indigenous Desert Alliance (Australia) uses cultural burning to protect desert grasslands.
Incentivise sustainable grazing and PES models: Reward soil carbon enhancement through pastoral practices.
- g. India’s proposed National Rangeland Utilisation Policy (2025–26) aims to restore 120 million hectares.

Conclusion:

Grasslands are not empty lands but climate-critical ecosystems storing carbon, sustaining biodiversity, and supporting livelihoods. A forest-only climate strategy is scientifically incomplete and socially unjust. Integrating grasslands into NDCs and climate finance is essential for credible, resilient, and inclusive climate action.

Environment

2. India’s progress on its climate targets

Context: Recent analyses and commentaries have reviewed India’s performance on its Paris climate commitments, noting that while emissions intensity reduction and renewable capacity targets are largely on track, absolute emissions and coal dependence remain key concerns for the coming decade.

About India’s progress on its climate targets:

What it is?

India’s climate targets arise from its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the UNFCCC, guided by the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR). These targets aim to balance development needs with climate mitigation and adaptation.

India’s key climate targets

Emissions intensity reduction: Reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 33–35% by 2030 from the 2005 level (updated to 45% by 2030 in the 2022 NDC).
Non-fossil power capacity: Achieve 40% (now 50%) of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
Renewable energy expansion: Initially 175 GW by 2022, later scaled to 500 GW by 2030.
- Forest carbon sink: Create an additional 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO₂-equivalent carbon sink through forests and tree cover by 2030.
Long-term goal: Achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.

Current status of targets:

Emissions intensity: India has reduced emissions intensity by ~36% by 2020, achieving the original Paris target a decade early. However, absolute GHG emissions remain high (around 3 GtCO₂e), reflecting only partial decoupling of growth from emissions.
Power sector transition: Non-fossil capacity crossed 50% of installed capacity by mid-2025, driven mainly by solar and wind. Yet, renewables contribute only ~22% of actual electricity generation, as coal continues to provide over 70% of baseload power.
Renewable energy capacity: Solar capacity expanded rapidly (from ~3 GW in 2014 to over 110 GW by 2025), while wind growth has been slower. The 175 GW (2022) target was missed, though the 500 GW (2030) goal remains technically feasible.
Forest and carbon sink target: Official estimates suggest India is close to meeting the forest sink target, but much of this relies on plantations and broad forest-cover definitions, raising concerns about ecological quality and permanence.

Roadblocks to achieving climate targets:

Absolute emissions challenge: Despite achieving a 33% reduction in emissions intensity by 2023, India’s absolute emissions rose to ~3.35 Gt CO₂e in 2024, driven by rising electricity demand. Rapid GDP growth allows intensity to fall even as total emissions increase, shrinking the national carbon budget.
Coal-based baseload power lock-in: Coal remains central to energy security, with ~219 GW installed capacity contributing over 65% of electricity output. Planned addition of ~80 GW of coal capacity by 2031–32 risks long-term carbon lock-ins, delaying structural decarbonisation.
Storage and grid constraints: High renewable capacity is undermined by weak storage and transmission. While solar crossed 110 GW, operational BESS remains under 0.3 GWh against multi-gigawatt needs, and a 42% shortfall in transmission commissioning (FY25) limits renewable evacuation.
Implementation and forest governance gaps: CAMPA fund utilisation remains poor, with states spending only a fraction of released funds. Afforestation is often plantation-centric, neglecting natural regeneration, making forest carbon sinks ecologically fragile under drought and fire stress.

Way ahead: Strategic pillars

Scaling energy storage and grid modernisation: Fast-track the National Electricity Transmission Plan to integrate 500 GW of non-fossil capacity.
- Achieving 74 GW of BESS and 50 GW of pumped hydro by 2032, supported by VGF for storage, is critical to convert capacity into reliable generation.
Transparent coal transition roadmap: Accelerate retirement of old and inefficient thermal plants, building on the 4.6 GW decommissioned by 2025.
- Repurposing abandoned coal mines for solar and pumped storage can enable a just transition for coal-dependent regions.
Industrial decarbonisation through green hydrogen: Leverage the National Green Hydrogen Mission (₹19,744 crore) to decarbonise steel, fertilisers, and refining.
- The 5 MMT annual hydrogen target by 2030, backed by the SIGHT incentives, can structurally cut hard-to-abate emissions.
Reforming forest and carbon policy: Operationalise the Indian Carbon Market (2025) with binding sectoral targets to drive cost-effective mitigation.
- Shift CAMPA focus from plantations to Assisted Natural Regeneration and biodiversity-rich forests for resilient, long-term carbon sinks.

Conclusion:

India has largely delivered on its headline climate commitments, especially emissions intensity reduction and non-fossil capacity expansion. However, rising absolute emissions, coal reliance, and weak storage and forest governance dilute real climate impact. The next five years are critical to convert targets on paper into durable emissions moderation and ecological resilience.