3 Issues to Watch as China and India Move Toward Sustainable Development

China and India are pursuing low-carbon growth models while maintaining robust economic growth. Key areas of focus include the transition to inclusive sustainable growth, managing unprecedented urbanization through technologies like electric vehicles, and implementing carbon mitigation tools such as China's power sector carbon trading market and India's 'Perform, Achieve, Trade' energy efficiency scheme.

• China and India are demonstrating that robust economic growth can coexist with climate goal progress; India is expected to surpass its 2022 renewables targets via wind and solar, while China has achieved over 40 percent progress toward its 2030 emissions intensity, clean energy, and forest stock volume goals. Annual economic growth rates for India and China have remained at 6.8 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.
• Rapid urbanization and the rise of megacities with over 10 million people have led to air pollution and congestion in China and India, prompting a shift toward sustainable urban solutions. China is currently the global leader in electric vehicle manufacturing, and India has committed to selling only electric vehicles by 2030.
• The two nations are employing different carbon mitigation models: China has established the world's largest carbon trading scheme within its power sector, which emits 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, with plans to expand to other industrial sectors. India utilizes the "Perform, Achieve, Trade" scheme to improve industrial energy efficiency through efficiency certificates and targets, complemented by a coal cess of Rs 400 ($6.34 USD) per ton of coal produced or imported.

APA

Mohanty, P. (2018). 3 Issues to Watch as China and India Move Toward Sustainable Development. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/3-issues-watch-china-and-india-move-toward-sustainable-development

Chicago

Mohanty, Priyanka. 3 Issues to Watch as China and India Move Toward Sustainable Development. World Resources Institute, 2018. https://www.wri.org/insights/3-issues-watch-china-and-india-move-toward-sustainable-development.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mohanty |first1=Priyanka |title=3 Issues to Watch as China and India Move Toward Sustainable Development |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=12 February 2018 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/3-issues-watch-china-and-india-move-toward-sustainable-development |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mohanty2018issues, author = {Mohanty, Priyanka}, title = {{3 Issues to Watch as China and India Move Toward Sustainable Development}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/3-issues-watch-china-and-india-move-toward-sustainable-development}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }