Authors: Manish Singh, Paawanpreet Kaur, Vemana Vijaya Naga Durganjali, Zaira Bashir and Anjali Kushwaha

Abstract

This paper examines how India’s climate diplomacy operates as a soft power strategy within contemporary international relations. Rather than treating soft power as an outcome or reputational attribute, the study analyses the mechanisms through which climate-related engagement may generate non-coercive influence. Focusing on climate finance, institutional initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and emerging clean technology pathways including the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The paper explores how India seeks to enhance legitimacy, institutional presence, and normative standing within global climate governance. The analysis situates India’s climate diplomacy within broader debates on equity, South–South cooperation, and development-sensitive sustainability, highlighting its dual positioning as both a developing country advocate and an increasingly active climate actor. By linking finance and innovation with diplomatic practice, the study contributes to understanding climate diplomacy as a constrained yet significant avenue through which states pursue soft power in a system shaped by voluntary cooperation and normative contestation.

Keywords: Climate Diplomacy, Soft Power, Climate Finance, Technology Transfer