Carbon avoided
How much CO2 India’s renewables kept out of the air, year by year.
Updated 6 November 2026.
207.6 Mt without large hydro. Up from 285 Mt in FY2024-25. Source: CEA generation × CEA grid factor.
CO2 avoided rose by more than half in six years: from 208.3 Mt in FY2019-20 to 320.5 Mt in FY2025-26.
Show the numbers
| Year | Bio | Solar | Wind | Small hydro | Large hydro | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019-20 | 9.7 | 35.5 | 45.8 | 6.7 | 110.4 | 208.3 |
| FY2020-21 | 10.3 | 42.2 | 42.0 | 7.2 | 104.9 | 206.6 |
| FY2021-22 | 11.4 | 52.2 | 48.8 | 7.4 | 107.8 | 227.7 |
| FY2022-23 | 11.5 | 73.0 | 51.4 | 8.0 | 116.1 | 260.0 |
| FY2023-24 | 10.4 | 84.3 | 60.6 | 6.9 | 97.5 | 259.6 |
| FY2024-25 | 9.3 | 102.3 | 59.2 | 8.2 | 105.5 | 284.5 |
| FY2025-26 | 9.5 | 118.0 | 72.0 | 8.1 | 112.9 | 320.5 |
Million tonnes of CO2 avoided, including large hydro: generation (CEA) × that year’s CEA weighted-average grid factor. Large hydro is shown in deep blue at the base, so the total without it can be read off.
Renewable generation including large hydro, FY2025-26 (CEA) × tCO2 per MWh (CEA v22.0) = CO2 avoided. Without large hydro: 307.55 BU, 207.6 Mt.
Show the numbers
| Year | Current pace (Mt) | Faster shift (Mt) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,424 | 1,424 |
| 2030 | 1,579 | 1,442 |
| 2035 | 1,402 | 982 |
| 2050 | 838 | 329 |
Power-sector CO2, million tonnes a year. Source: IEA, World Energy Outlook 2024, Table A.30 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0): Stated Policies (current pace) and Announced Pledges (faster shift).
What waiting would cost.
Two paths published by the IEA: on the current pace, India’s power sector emits 838 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2050; with a faster shift, 329. The gap is CO2 India can still avoid.
What this covers, and what it leaves out.
CO2 avoided = renewable generation (CEA) × the CEA weighted-average grid emission factor for the same year. The headline includes large hydro; the figure without it is shown alongside.
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of Power, Monthly Renewable Energy Generation Report (Broad Overview), March 2021 edition
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of Power, All India Electricity Statistics: General Review 2025, Data to FY2023-24, November 2025
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of Power, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, Version 22.0, August 2026
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of Power, Broad Overview of Monthly Renewable Energy Generation, March 2023 edition
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of Power, Broad Overview of Monthly Renewable Energy Generation, March 2024 edition
- Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of Power, Broad Overview of Monthly Renewable Energy Generation, March 2026 edition (full year FY2025-26, with FY2024-25 for comparison), dated 5 May 2026
- International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2024, 2024 edition; Annex A licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0