SDGR is the only UN official report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Key highlights of the Report

NIF launched by MoSPI reflects India’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and serves as the backbone for monitoring SDGs at the national level. 

Key Progress Highlighted in the Report

MoEFCC Issued Draft Emission Targets Rules for Industries Under Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS).

• Draft Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025 are issued under the compliance mechanism of CCTS. 

About Draft Rules

• Defines Greenhouse gas emission intensity (GEI) as tonnes of CO2 equivalent emitted per unit of output or product.
• Proposes legally binding GHG emission targets for over 400 industrial units.
• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) will determine the emission targets. 
• Applies to sectors such as aluminium, iron and steel, petroleum refining, petrochemicals, and textiles.
• Failure to comply will result in financial penalties under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EPA 1986).

About CCTS

• Goal: Lower GHG emissions by promoting carbon pricing (i.e., imposes a cost on GHG emissions) 
• Legal Backing:Energy Conservation Amendment Act (ECA), 2022 empowers the Central Government, in consultation with BEE, to specify the CCTS.
• Key elements: 
  • Compliance Mechanism (For Obligated Entities): Obligated entities that emit less than their target get Carbon Credit Certificates.
  • Voluntary Offset Mechanism: Enables other sectors to register their projects for GHG emission reduction, removal, or avoidance, in exchange for the issuance of Carbon Credit Certificates. 
• Administrator: BEE
• Regulator of Carbon Trading: Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)
• Significance: Stepping stones for Indian Carbon Market and aligns with India’s obligations under UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. 

World Bank’s “State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025” report has recognized India’s growing role in shaping global climate finance and carbon pricing frameworks.

Using the power under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the MoEFCC has notified the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025. 

• Rules will ensure that polluted sites are cleaned up (remediation) by those responsible.
• Contaminated sites are areas where hazardous waste has been previously disposed of, polluting the soil and water and posing risks to health and the environment.

Key highlights of the Rules 

• Contaminants Covered: 189 hazardous substances as per Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016.
• Exclusions: Contamination from radioactive waste, mining, oil spills at sea, and solid waste dumps (governed by separate legislation).
• Response levels: Different response levels are set for agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial areas.
• Contaminated Site Management
  • Site Identification: Local bodies/District Administrations must report suspected sites twice a year to State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) 
  • Site Assessment: SPCBs shall inspect the suspected sites and list of probable contaminated sites and inform to the CPCB on the centralised online portal.
  • Polluter Identification: SPCBs identify the polluter. If land is sold, the new owner is liable.  
  • Clean-Up Plan: Polluter must carry out a clean-up plan using an approved agency, and pay for it.
    • However, in case the polluter is not identified, SPCB execute clean-up plan.
• Funding for assessment and remediation: Initial assessment costs may be covered by the Central Government from the Environmental Relief Fund under Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and also by the State Government.
  • If the polluter is found, these costs must be repaid within 3 months.
• Penalties: The State Board may impose fines for failure to clean up, especially if health is at risk.

Rules address the legal vacuum around the remediation of legacy pollution sites while also providing provision for voluntary remediation.

The report was released by Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention.

Key Highlights

• Coverage: Inland freshwater, coastal, and marine wetlands extend over 1,800 million hectares.
• Wetland Degradation: 22 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1970.
• More wetlands are reported as being in poor condition for lower income/lower middle income countries (LICs/LMICs).
  • Africa's wetlands are among the most degraded globally.
• The Ramsar Convention’s strategic goals align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) Targets.
  • KM-GBF is a non-binding framework adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Threats faced by Wetlands includes unplanned urbanisation, rapid industrial and infrastructure development.

Best Case Studies

• Regional Flyway Initiative, a US$3 billion partnership across Asia, is restoring more than 140 wetlands critical to migratory birds and nearly 200 million people.
• Seychelles issued the world’s first sovereign “blue bond”.

Way Forward

• Integrating wetlands into national planning: Embedding wetlands into good natural capital accounting.
• Recognising their central role in the global hydrological cycle.
• Embedding and prioritising wetlands in innovative financial solutions: Like debt instruments (such as green bonds, blue bonds) results-based financing instruments.

The survey aims to formulate a long-term strategy to protect the popular hill towns in the district from increasing pressure due to unregulated tourism, mounting vehicular traffic, population pressure, among others.

• Previously, in September 2024, National Green Tribunal directed the state government to classify the Nainital district based on carrying capacity and environmental sensitivity.

What is Carrying Capacity?

• It refers to the maximum threshold of population an area can bear in relation to the available resources.
• It depends on both biotic (e.g. vegetation, hydrology) and abiotic (e.g. terrain, climate) factors.
• Two major approaches for assessing Carrying Capacity:
  • Planetary boundaries approach: Applied in the context of environmental crises such as global warming, land degradation, pollution, water stress.
  • Biocapacity Overshoot approach: It is sustainability metric about the demand humans put on the earth systems by consuming total annual productivity of natural systems within a few months every year. e.g., Earth Overshoot Day.

• Significance of carrying capacity in planning for sustainable development: Carrying capacity assessment based on precautionary principles (refer infographic) provides the option to practically deal with the tussle between ‘developmental governance’ and ‘sustainability of development’.

Proactive regulation, backed by scientific evidence and adaptive planning as per precautionary principles, can help balance economic aspirations with ecological limits. Institutionalizing such foresight can guide sustainable tourism models, prevent irreversible damage, and serve as a template for governance in other environmentally fragile regions.

The case on global responsibilities toward climate action, especially to protect vulnerable Small Island States (SIDS) was led by the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu and supported by more than 130 countries.

• In 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the ICJ to issue an advisory opinion on:
  • States’ obligations under international law to protect the environment
  • Legal consequences for failing to meet these obligations

Key Highlights of ICJ Ruling 

• Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment is Human Right:  States are bound by treaties like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must act on climate change to protect these rights.
• States Obliged to Limit Emissions: States must prevent harm from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and ensure meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 
• Consequences for Non-Compliance: If states fail to meet obligations, they:
  • incur legal responsibility and may be required to cease the wrongful conduct, and
  • may be required to offer guarantees of non-repetition, and make full reparation depending on the circumstances.

Some countries, like the US and Russia, have opposed any court-mandated emission cuts. But ICJ’s opinion adds growing legal pressure.

Assistance in Deploying Energy Efficient Technologies in Industries & Establishments (ADEETIE) scheme can help Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) reduce energy consumption by 30–50%, improve power-to-product ratio, and support creation of green energy corridors.

About ADEETIE

• Ministry: Ministry of Power. 
• Eligible Enterprises: MSMEs with Udyam ID. 
  • Entities must demonstrate 10% energy savings of the implemented technologies.
• Implementation: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
• Scheme Duration: 3 years (FY 2025-26 to FY 2027-28).
• Budgetary outlay: ₹1000 crore.
• Target Sectors: Covers 14 energy-intensive sectors like Brass, Bricks, Ceramics, Chemicals, Fishery, Food Processing, etc. 
• Implementation Approach:Phased roll-out, First phase with 60 industrial clusters, and additional 100 clusters in the second phase.
• Scheme components
  • Interest Subvention: 5% for Micro and Small Enterprises and 3% for Medium Enterprises on loans.
  • Streamlined Project Implementation: Support for Investment grade energy audits and preparation of Detailed Project Reports, etc. 
  • Support Provided: Technical handholding, financial incentives, Assistance in conducting Investment Grade Energy Audit, etc. 

Patterns of floods in terms of magnitude, size and intensity undergoing changes reveals IIT Study.

• IIT Delhi and IIT Roorkee have found that riverine floods in India are changing over the past 40 years (1970–2010) based on data from >170 monitoring stations across the country.

Key highlights of the study

• Decline in Flood Magnitude:  74% of stations showed decreasing flood magnitude trends whereas 26% showcased increasing trends. Larger catchment experienced reduced flood magnitudes
  • Region Specific:-
    • West and Central Ganga basin: 17% decline per decade in monsoon floods (due to declining precipitation and soil moisture)
    • Narmada basin: Consistent decrease in magnitude of floods(mainly on account of dam construction)
    • Marathwada region: River flows are decreasing by 8% during monsoon and 31% in pre-monsoon season
• Rise in Pre-Monsoon Flood Intensity:  Malabar Coast -Increase of 8% per decade in pre-monsoon flood intensity (due to rising pre-monsoon rainfall). It affects rivers such as Chaliyar, Periyar, Bharathapuzha etc.
• Shift in Flood Timing: Upper Ganga (delayed floods), Central India (earlier floods), Southern India (generally sees later floods).