New Delhi, July 27 -- India will forge its own distinct pathway in the global energy transition, with the country emerging as a "clean energy powerhouse" despite different challenges facing developing economies, a senior UN climate official said. Selwin Hart, special adviser to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on climate change, told HT in an interview on Thursday that India's transition strategy would differ significantly from other nations, particularly given its status as a net importer of fossil fuels. "One of the things that we've been repeatedly saying, especially for developing and emerging economies that are fossil fuel producing nations, is that their transition pathways are going to be different," Hart said. "If you're a large fossil fuel producing nation, your transition pathway is going to be different than the transition pathway of a country that's a net importer of fossil fuels," he added. "It is not a one size fits all approach. That being said, India is a clean energy powerhouse," Hart said, emphasising that developing and emerging economies face unique challenges in their climate strategies. Hart highlighted how BRICS nations are stepping up climate action in the wake of the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. He noted that climate issues, previously absent from BRICS discussions, now feature prominently in the bloc's statements with "extensive and very precise technical work" being undertaken. The UN official's comments follow his team's recent analysis suggesting fossil fuels are nearing "the end of the road," which prompted Guterres to deliver a special address declaring this "the moment of energy transition." Hart described India as "extremely pivotal to multilateralism, sustainable development, and climate action," noting that the country has traditionally been "an extremely strong advocate for conveying the interests of the developing world." "It's also an extremely large economy that is still developing, and will require huge amounts of energy," Hart said, praising India's momentum towards its climate goals. He noted that 50% of the country's electricity capacity now comes from renewables. "India is more than halfway to the 500 gigawatt goal set by PM Modi," he said, expressing hope this progress would be reflected in India's nationally determined contribution (NDC) due before COP30. "The potential for India to exploit its leadership on clean energy is absolutely enormous," Hart said. However, Hart acknowledged that financing remains a critical challenge for developing countries preparing for COP30 in Brazil this November. Many nations face serious debt distress and lack fiscal space for adaptation and resilience investments. The COP29 and COP30 presidencies have established a circle of finance ministers to address these challenges. "The world needs to understand that there needs to be a serious discussion on how to address the financing needs of developing countries," Hart said....