India Records Sharpest Drop in Emissions Among Major Nations in 2025, Says Report

India recorded the highest drop in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among major countries in 2025, according the Climate TRACE data.

The report further stated that Russia's emissions increased the most of any country in the world, while India had the largest drop in emissions in 2025. China and the United States, the world's top two emitters, saw their emissions stay relatively flat in 2025, ticking up slightly in each country. Despite the relatively small rate of increase, China and the US ranked second and sixth, respectively, for largest increase in absolute emissions.

Across ten major emitting sectors worldwide, the most significant growth in emissions in 2025 came from fossil fuel operations, with emissions rising by 1.56% or 151.57 million tonnes (mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). Emissions also rose in transportation, manufacturing and buildings. However, the power sector continued to be the largest source of global emissions in 2025.

Clean energy solutions like renewable sources of power and electric vehicles are taking hold in many locations around the world, and as a result, emissions are beginning to decline in these regions.

Demand Rises, Emissions Fall

India’s power sector emissions fell 2.6% in 2025, for the first time since 2020. Crucially, both of these declines come at a time of increased economic growth and electricity consumption, demonstrating that renewable deployment is beginning to make a dent in overall power sector emissions in these countries.

The power sector remains the largest contributor to global emissions, accounting for about 26% of total greenhouse gas output. The global power sector emissions from fell slightly, decreasing by 0.13% or 20.31 MtCO2e, in 2025, the first decline since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past decade, China and India led the world in growth in power sector emissions. China's power sector emissions increased 53.7% between 2015 and 2024, while India's increased 34.6% in the same period. But last year, that rapid growth stalled.

Green Emissions Trends

According to the 2024 report by World Resources Institute (WRI), the power sector is the single biggest contributor to climate change and a crucial focus area for global decarbonisation efforts because electricity and heat generation alone account for nearly 29.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions.