IEEFA report flags gaps in India’s corporate transition planning for net-zero
CLEVELAND, Ohio, United States, 30 January 2026: The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said credible corporate climate transition planning is becoming a critical requirement for mobilising capital in India, given the country requires cumulative investments of USD 10 trillion (INR 883 lakh crore) to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Making the announcement through a Press Release, IEEFA said transition planning in India’s corporate landscape remains fragmented and largely driven by compliance, according to its recent report.
IEEFA said the absence of dedicated transition plan disclosures within the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, combined with limited guidance on financial materiality and forward-looking metrics, has resulted in disclosures that are difficult to compare, verify or use meaningfully for investment and lending decisions.
The Institute said its report examines transition planning practices across India’s corporate sector through an assessment of 33 companies operating in six high-emitting sectors, namely power, steel, cement, chemicals, commodities and oil and gas.
IEEFA said its analysis identifies three systemic weaknesses in India’s current transition planning landscape. The Institute said transition ambition rarely translates into quantified, time-bound and financially integrated pathways, with limited linkage between targets, capital expenditure, revenues and risk management. IEEFA said governance structures are present in form but weak in substance. The Institute added that disclosures are fragmented and backward-looking, reducing their usefulness for capital providers.
IEEFA said the assessment found that while most companies had announced net-zero or emission reduction targets, few explained how these targets would be achieved. Shantanu Srivastava, Research Lead, Sustainable Finance and Climate Risk, South Asia, 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.”
IEEFA said financial disclosures remained a major gap, with companies rarely quantifying the potential financial impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities. IEEFA added that scenario analysis, where disclosed, was qualitative and lacked transparency around assumptions, time horizons or financial implications.
IEEFA said governance disclosures further weakened the effectiveness of transition planning. The report’s co-author, Tanya Rana, Energy Analyst, IEEFA , South Asia, said: “While 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.”
IEEFA said the sectoral review revealed significant heterogeneity in transition plan disclosure maturity across India’s key emitting industries. IEEFA said a consistent pattern emerged in which a handful of large, listed or globally exposed companies demonstrated relatively advanced practices, while the majority remained at an early stage of transition planning.
Srivastava added, “Disclosures are strongest on high-level ambition statements, and weakest on lever-level quantification, financial integration and Scope 3 coverage.”
IEEFA said governance structures were often in place but that operational embedding, capacity building and climate-linked remuneration remained limited. IEEFA said engagement on workforce and community transition continued to be framed as Corporate Social Responsibility rather than Just Transition and that external assurance practices varied widely by firm size.
The Institute said the report outlined targeted recommendations to strengthen corporate transition planning and improve the decision-usefulness of disclosures in India.
IEEFA said that at the corporate level, the report recommends companies move beyond high-ambition statements and develop transition plans that clearly link emissions targets to capital expenditure, operational changes, financing needs and risk management processes. The Institute said this includes improving the use of scenario analysis, strengthening internal data systems and embedding transition planning within core business strategy.
IEEFA said that for regulators, the report recommends SEBI explicitly integrate transition planning expectations within the BRSR framework, including clearer guidance on forward-looking metrics, financial materiality and the linkage between climate targets and business strategy.
Rana said, “Strengthening corporate transition planning and disclosure practices will require coordinated action by regulators and corporates.” IEEFA said Indian corporates should invest in internal capacity building, scenario analysis, data systems and governance structures.
IEEFA said regulatory coherence will also be key, adding that alignment with the Reserve Bank of India’s proposed climate risk disclosure framework, sectoral decarbonisation roadmaps and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme could help ensure that corporate transition planning becomes part of a unified ecosystem driving India’s low-carbon transformation.