Jayant Sinha, the former Union Minister of State for Finance and Civil Aviation, issued a warning on Monday that if India does not act swiftly and decisively to decarbonise, the nation's capital city of New Delhi may eventually see extreme temperatures of almost 50 degrees Celsius.
Speaking at the Transition Accelerator (ITA) event, which was organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Sinha stated that the national capital's worsening air quality and rising temperatures serve as a sobering reminder of the urgent need to address climate change.

Jayant Sinha: "Climate changes are drastically changing."
Sinha stated that the city's climate patterns are rapidly altering and that "vehicular emissions based on fossil fuels are the main reason the AQI is over 300." "If we don't pursue decarbonisation, Delhi's maximum temperatures would eventually reach beyond 50 degrees Celsius. After Diwali, it is now. Although daytime temperatures have decreased, nighttime temperatures remain extremely high. He noted that the air conditioners were still operating.
Sinha called the current state of affairs a "moment of reckoning" for India, emphasising that the nation's development trajectory needs to be in line with its climate pledges.
"We must drastically cut back on carbon emissions. By 2070, we must achieve net zero.

Three and a half billion tonnes of greenhouse gases
Sinha emphasised India's increasing carbon footprint, pointing out that the nation releases more than 3.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
"We have to reduce our carbon gases dramatically," he underlined, calling for a national drive towards electric mobility, clean energy, and green infrastructure.
He emphasised the need for India's environmental objectives and economic ambitions to coexist.
Sustainable Bharat and Viksit Bharat
"Viksit Bharat and Sustainable Bharat are two sides of a coin, they need to go together," Sinha stated, emphasising that India's capacity to successfully incorporate sustainability into its economic model will determine if it can realise its goal of having a USD 30 trillion economy.

"We must establish a clean and green India if we hope to develop it to the GDP of a developed nation. That's the way to sustainable prosperity," he stated, adding that low-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources must drive India's economic growth in the next years.
To guarantee that India's growth is environmentally sustainable, Sinha urged industries, legislators, and citizens to take common responsibility.
"We can move forward to a sustainable trajectory amid global competitiveness," he stated. "India's rise will only be meaningful if it is built on a foundation of clean air, pure water, and climate resilience."

ITA has identified a pipeline of 65 commercial-scale green industrial projects across industries like aluminium, cement, steel, chemicals (ammonia and methanol), aviation, and shipping, James Schofield, Managing Director of ITA, told ANI on the sidelines of the event.
Schofield stated that the initiative aims to unlock India's clean industrialisation opportunity and mobilise policymakers, financiers, and industry leaders to address key investment barriers. "These projects represent over USD150 billion in investment potential, 200,000-plus jobs, and more than 160 million tonnes CO₂e in emissions abatement," Schofield said.