Whether we live in Delhi, Bangalore, Assam or Bihar, we face acute environmental challenges such as air pollution, water crisis and floods. Western democracies like Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have witnessed the rise of dedicated Green Parties that force environmental accountability into the political mainstream. India’s electoral rhetoric today, too, reflects a shift with climate change appearing in the manifestoes of major parties. For example, in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha election, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s environmental agenda included pledges to tackle air pollution. Environmental issues were also mirrored in political manifestoes in the polls to Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Assam, the BJP proposed the ‘Badh Mukt Assam Mission’ to address the state’s annual flood problem. In West Bengal, pollution concerns have been rising among voters in Haldia, an industrial hub on the banks of the Hooghly. In its manifesto, the Trinamool Congress had recommended the introduction of a dedicated Carbon Emission Control Policy for industries.
Political parties can read the public pulse and respond with pledges. But environmental issues remain merely secondary concerns. For instance, despite substantial investments under the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the river continues to be burdened with effluent and solid industrial waste. In Delhi, reports suggest that the BJP dispensation used water sprinklers near monitoring stations to artificially lower pollution readings.
The delay in environmental action has significant and hidden impacts on economic growth. India loses around 3-6% of its GDP due to air pollution-related impacts such as reduced worker productivity, mounting healthcare expenses, premature deaths, and lower business revenues. Green policies can no longer be considered as fringe requirements.
It appears that young, middle-class India is taking cognisance of the crisis and is vocal about it. A study by Deloitte in 2024 on Gen-Z and millennials showed that climate change was among their top priorities after cost of living and unemployment. This cohort is reframing environmental issues from ‘idealism’ to ‘urgency’ by linking lived health challenges from, say, air pollution to voting behaviour. This contemporary push for political commitments on the environment is rooted in the legacy of environmental activism at the grass roots. The Chipko movement and the Narmada Bachao Andolan played a crucial role in shaping environmental consciousness among Indian citizens.
The challenge lies in aligning this momentum with wider electoral realities. For economically vulnerable voters, poverty, unemployment and inflation are immediate priorities. Climate impacts appear distant to them even though floods, cyclones, and droughts deepen poverty by destroying assets and jobs across sectors.
Climate risk is not peripheral to development. The government should integrate climate resilience with circular economy approaches that can help reduce waste while also generating employment. In this process, voters would benefit through expanded livelihood opportunities while political parties would be better positioned to anchor their credibility through visible and effective service delivery. Voters must demand two concrete shifts. First, political parties should integrate climate resilience into core economic policy, presenting air quality management, flood control, and heat mitigation as health and employment priorities, supported by clear, time-bound targets. Second, political parties must commit to transparent monitoring of environmental promises through accessible progress reports and independent audits. Otherwise, the environment will remain a footnote in the democratic process.
Sagarmoy Phukan is a sustainability expert and Madhurima Ghosh a researcher at TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi