'Focus on domestic ecological challenges': India's leadership role claim at COP30 questioned

By A Representative 

A detailed representation addressed to Union Environment Ministers Bhupender Yadav and Kirti Vardhan Singh has urged the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to undertake a serious reassessment of India’s environmental governance in the context of accelerating climate impacts, continuing diversion of forests and increasing ecological stress. The letter, written by Power and Climate Policy Analyst Shankar Sharma from Sagara, Karnataka, has also been marked to the Prime Minister.

Referring to recent statements by the Government following the COP30 climate negotiations, the representation questions the claim that India has achieved all major goals at the global climate summit and played a leadership role. While acknowledging the diplomatic relevance of such messaging, the author states that a “far more urgent priority” should be a realistic assessment of the country’s performance in protecting natural resources and ensuring citizens’ safety amid escalating climate threats.

The letter cites scientific reports and media analyses to highlight that India is witnessing rapid deforestation, habitat fragmentation, rising human–wildlife conflict and increasing extreme weather events. Quoting environmental data, it states that the country has lost more than 120,000 hectares of primary forests between 2014 and 2019, and that over 500 projects in protected areas and eco-sensitive zones were cleared between June 2014 and May 2018. It further notes that India’s combined forest and tree cover remains around 22% of total land area, considerably below the National Forest Policy target of 33%.

Pointing to the ecological deterioration of the Western Ghats, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the representation refers to international assessments that classify its condition as “critical”. The author argues that extensive infrastructure expansion, mining, hydropower projects, plantation agriculture and climate change have heightened landslides, destroyed habitats and endangered water security for millions. The letter states that around 325 species from the region are currently listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List.

Shankar Sharma also warns of the growing number of linear projects, including highways, transmission lines and hydropower corridors, passing through Western Ghats forests, particularly in Karnataka. He claims that over 20 such projects have been proposed in the state and expresses concern that most are neither backed by adequate scientific scrutiny nor subjected to alternatives analysis. He describes the proposal for a 2,000 MW pumped storage project in the Sharavati river valley—which would require diversion of about 400 acres of rainforest inside a wildlife sanctuary—as an example of “environmentally unviable and avoidable” developmental planning.

Emphasising that deforestation is a primary driver of desertification and water stress, the representation argues that decisions such as clearing forest land for energy infrastructure undermine national commitments on climate resilience, river protection and biodiversity.

The letter concludes by calling for greater due diligence, caution and transparency in project approvals, suggesting that “naive celebrations” of international negotiating outcomes should give way to tangible, long-term strategies for safeguarding ecological security and community welfare. It urges the MoEF&CC to reassess ongoing approvals in protected areas and review the country’s development model in the light of scientific warnings and recent disasters.