India is unlikely to sign a deal with richer nations this year for a just energy transition, as international funding rests on India committing to a timeline to phase out coal, an ¡°unviable¡± proposition for the country, energy analysts said.

The Group of Seven industrialized nations, together with Norway, Denmark and the European Union, believe a ¡°just energy transition partnership¡± (JETP) with India will financially empower it to reduce climate changing emissions from power production.

Similar pacts have been signed with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam, but India wants a JETP on its own terms: no phase out of coal and funds for clean energy expansion in the form of grants, not loans.