India Rejects Global Climate & Air Quality Rankings, Says They Don’t Inform Policy

The Indian government has firmly stated that global climate risk and air quality rankings have no role in shaping the country’s domestic policies. Responding in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh clarified that international indices such as IQAir’s World Air Quality Ranking, the WHO Global Air Quality Database, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) metrics are not official or authoritative assessments for India.

The minister emphasized that WHO’s air quality guidelines serve only as advisory values and are not binding for countries. India, he noted, follows its own National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which set permissible limits for 12 pollutants based on national conditions and public health goals.

Singh also highlighted that India conducts its own annual air quality ranking of 130 cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), using country-specific parameters developed for improving urban air quality.

Regarding India's ninth-place ranking in the Global Climate Risk Index 2026 released by Germanwatch, the government reiterated that it does not recognize external climate vulnerability rankings as a basis for policymaking. India instead follows a structured domestic approach to climate resilience through the National Policy on Disaster Management, which outlines preventive, mitigation, response, and recovery measures.

Additionally, all 34 states and Union Territories have prepared State Action Plans on Climate Change aligned with the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), reinforcing a localized and nationally tailored approach to dealing with climate impacts.

Sovereign pushback on global climate rankings doesn't reduce investor use of them - it just widens the gap between government narrative and investor perception. Our ESG-strategy and market-intelligence teams help Indian corporates and financial institutions build ESG narratives that engage credibly with both national and international audiences.