Corporate planning gaps risk India’s $10T net-zero goal: IEEFA

Transition planning across the sector remains fragmented and largely compliance-driven.

India will require cumulative investments of about $10t (₹883 lakh crore) to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

However, transition planning across India’s corporate sector remains fragmented and largely compliance-driven, limiting its usefulness for investors and lenders, the study said.

IEEFA reviewed 33 companies across six high-emitting sectors — power, steel, cement, chemicals, commodities, and oil and gas — and identified three core weaknesses: ambitious targets are rarely backed by time-bound and financially integrated plans; governance structures lack real accountability; and disclosures are backward-looking and inconsistent.

Most companies have announced net-zero or emissions-reduction targets, but few explain how they will meet them, the report said.

“Only a limited number link their goals to capital expenditure plans, revenue assumptions or changes in business strategy, making it difficult for investors and lenders to assess the feasibility of transition pathways,” said Shantanu Srivastava, IEEFA’s South Asia research lead for sustainable finance and climate risk.

Financial disclosure is another major gap. Companies seldom quantify climate-related risks and opportunities, and scenario analysis is largely qualitative, with little transparency around assumptions or financial impacts.

Governance reporting is also weak. “Whilst most companies report board- or management-level oversight of sustainability issues, few provide evidence of clear accountability, decision-making authority or incentive structures linked to transition outcomes,” said Tanya Rana, energy analyst at IEEFA South Asia and co-author of the report.

The report also noted wide differences across sectors. A small group of large or globally exposed firms show more advanced practices, while most remain at an early stage.

Disclosures tend to focus on broad ambition, with little detail on spending plans, business impacts or Scope 3 emissions.

IEEFA called on companies to link climate targets directly to capital investment, operations, financing needs and risk management, and to strengthen data systems and scenario analysis.

It also urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India to tighten the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework by adding explicit transition-planning requirements and clearer guidance on forward-looking financial metrics.

Stronger coordination across regulators — including the Reserve Bank of India and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency — will be needed to ensure corporate transition planning supports India’s low-carbon shift, the report said.