By Samar Verma*
COP30’s Lesson: Implement Climate via States
Philanthropy Bridges India’s Green Transition Gap
The 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém, Brazil, emphasised a message that has been forming for years. The world is entering a time when credibility depends more on delivery than on ambition level. The conference outcomes included a set of agreed decisions that focused on implementation tools. These tools aim to increase adaptation finance, advance the global adaptation agenda with measurable indicators, and strengthen just transition framing. This framing links climate action to livelihoods and fairness. The Belém process also clearly indicated that multilateral compromises will not be perfect. As a result, practical delivery systems outside of negotiation texts will become even more important in the coming years.
For India, this change is not just a diplomatic detail; it is a crucial development need. India’s long-term prosperity goals, expressed through the vision of a developed nation and supported by global leadership platforms, will increasingly face two essential questions: Are we generating enough productive opportunities? Is our growth compatible with a world affected by climate change? Mission LiFE highlights that this transition involves not only technologies but also systems, incentives, and daily choices that support sustainable outcomes at scale.
The paradox we must address without compromising India’s goals
The central paradox of the 21st century is glaring: the growth model that helped millions escape poverty in the 20th century is now fueling a climate crisis that threatens to undo those gains. India represents this paradox intensely. It is a relatively low per-capita emitter compared to advanced economies. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India’s per-capita emissions are less than half the global average. However, India also faces significant climate risks from intense heat, unpredictable rainfall, agricultural vulnerabilities, and coastal threats.
The economic impact is clear. The World Bank warns that climate change, through rising temperatures and changing monsoon patterns, could cost India about 2.8% of GDP by 2050. This could lower living standards for many people if growth does not consider climate impacts. The stark reality is this: “business as usual” is becoming costly, socially unstable, and risky.
This is why development and climate action can no longer run on separate paths. They must be integrated so economic growth becomes cleaner, more resilient, and more inclusive.
Clean growth is not an add-on; it is the development agenda.
The way forward is not about slowing growth; it is about redefining what growth means. “Clean growth” captures this shift: separating economic expansion from emissions, resource depletion, and environmental damage while boosting productivity, livelihoods, and competitiveness.
The investment opportunity is substantial and clear. The IEA estimates that to stay on track for India’s net-zero goal by 2070, an average investment of around USD 160 billion per year in India’s energy sector is needed through 2030. This is about three times the recent levels. When viewed narrowly, this seems like a cost. However, strategically, it represents a generational chance to enhance energy security, modernise infrastructure, and position Indian firms and workers in next-generation value chains- from grids and storage to clean manufacturing and energy services.
Resilience is equally crucial. COP30’s outcomes included a call to significantly scale adaptation finance by 2035 and, importantly, to agree on indicators that measure progress under the Global Goal on Adaptation. This is significant because resilience cannot be managed by words alone; it needs measurable goals, investable plans, and accountable delivery. Investments in resilience, such as heat-ready cities, flood-resistant infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, and early warning systems, can reduce future disaster losses and fiscal instability, protecting households and public budgets.
Clean growth is therefore not merely an environmental “sector.” It is the development agenda- a vision that aligns prosperity with the realities of our planet and safeguards against climate risks.
Why states are the key to delivery
National targets set the direction, but large-scale implementation happens where public systems plan, regulate, procure, and invest. This is also where citizens experience the results. In India, these tools are primarily found at the sub-national level.
Consequently, a serious delivery strategy must start by identifying a core group of high-impact states using objective criteria that connect “growth” with “green.” A practical method is to prioritise states that account for a significant share of India’s GDP and emissions. Further refining the selection based on climate vulnerability, readiness to act, and the ability to create models for other “state archetypes” is necessary. The logic is simple: focus on areas where economic weight and emissions intensity are both high, since this is where transitions can shift national paths most quickly.
However, intent is rarely the main barrier. The recurring challenges are institutional and financial. Many State administrations struggle with limited capacity to plan for climate-compatible economic strategies across departments, which often operate independently. Policy frameworks often categorise climate issues as an “environment” concern rather than integrating them into essential economic decisions and incentive designs. Even when public and private capital are available, it cannot scale up without a credible pipeline of investable projects, clear risk allocation, and effective governance.
These are not minor obstacles; they explain why ambition sometimes exceeds actual results.
The business case for a state-based transition platform
Belém’s core message about implementation points to what India needs next: a dedicated sub-national transition platform- state-based, demand-driven, and designed to strengthen the “missing middle” between national vision and on-the-ground execution.
Such a platform does not replace government; it supports it. Its goal is to assist states in integrating climate and development into a unified economic strategy, then translating that strategy into investable programmes and measurable results.
Three design principles are crucial.
First, it should enhance the capability within state leadership to incorporate climate and resilience into high-level economic decision-making, rather than treating these issues as afterthoughts. This is more about creating a coordination hub that aligns departments, budgets, and delivery paths than creating another unit.
Second, it should facilitate integrated planning across the entire economy. The transition cannot just focus on energy; it must view the economy as a whole. Industrial policy, skill development, urban infrastructure, agriculture, fiscal strategy, and social protection all impact emissions and resilience outcomes. The platform’s role is to help states develop coherent strategies and incentive systems that attract private investment while protecting livelihoods.
Third, it needs to build financing and pipeline capability. This involves developing strong portfolios of bankable projects, supported by thorough project preparation, readiness for procurement, and governance standards that both investors and lenders require. This approach allows finance to be put to use- transitioning from “available capital” to “absorbed capital.”
COP30’s emphasis on adaptation finance and tracking adaptation progress underscores this logic. The world is not just asking for more money; it demands better absorption capabilities and clearer paths from decision-making to action.
The catalytic role of philanthropy
This is where philanthropy can play a unique role, particularly domestic philanthropy. Public budgets rightly focus on core service delivery, while private investments typically seek risk-adjusted returns. The essential components for transition- capacity building, coordination systems, data and monitoring processes, project preparation support, policy analysis, and stakeholder platforms- often exist in a funding gap: critical but not easily financed through traditional means.
Philanthropy can bridge this gap as catalytic capital. It can support public goods that enable much larger flows of public and private investment. It can help build state capacity, reduce risks for early-stage projects, and support multi-stakeholder processes that make reforms sustainable. When properly structured, this is not parallel governance; it is facilitating governance that aligns with national priorities, is owned by state systems, and aims to empower rather than create dependency.
Beyond silos: interdisciplinary approaches and grassroots legitimacy
A transition of this scale requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. Economics, engineering, behavioural science, finance, political economy, agriculture, and public health all intertwine in the choices that affect both emissions and resilience. Integrating renewable energy is not solely about megawatts; it also involves grid governance, affordability, regulatory credibility, workforce transitions, and social acceptance.
Moreover, clean growth cannot be imposed from the top down. Lasting reform necessitates co-creation with stakeholders, including state agencies, local bodies, utilities, small and medium enterprises, investors, civil society, workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, and youth groups. This process builds legitimacy, negotiates trade-offs, and ensures implementation can withstand political changes.
A state-embedded transition platform is not just a technical solution; it is a governance model that is multi-stakeholder, interdisciplinary, and rooted in the realities of people’s lives.
Why this is important now
COP30 highlighted the importance of implementation and measurable adaptation, signalling that climate action will increasingly be assessed through delivery systems and real-world outcomes. For India, the strategic opportunity lies in turning national goals into sub-national capabilities. This change should ensure that growth is not only faster but also cleaner and more resilient, that jobs and competitiveness grow hand in hand with sustainability, and that daily life becomes safer in a warming world.
A well-designed, state-based transition framework- centred on clean growth, resilience, inclusion, and investable delivery- offers a practical path to achieve this goal without rhetoric and disruptions to development priorities. It represents the missing middle between ambition and results, creating a system that makes a Viksit Bharat pathway not just aspirational, but achievable. It also positions India as the leader of the Global South.
*Samar Verma, PhD, is a senior economist, public policy professional and an institution-builder, with 28 years of experience in economic policy research, international development, grant-management and philanthropic leadership. Views are personal.
