India’s pathway to net zero by 2070: status, challenges, and way forward

Vaibhav Chaturvedi; Arunabha Ghosh; Amit Garg; Vidhee Avashia; Saritha Sudharmma Vishwanathan; Dipti Gupta; Nilesh Kumar Sinha; Chandra Bhushan; Srestha Banerjee; Divya Datt; Juhi Bansal; Minal Pathak; Subash Dhar; Ajeet Kumar Singh; Nayeem Khan; Rajani Ranjan Rashmi; Shalu Agrawal; Disha Agarwal; Anjali Singh; Thirumalai N C; Siddharth S Saxena; Vikram Vishal; Udayan Singh; Dharik S Mallapragada; Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi; Aditya Valiathan Pillai; Vibhuti Garg; Santosh Singh; Kavya Hari; Nandakumar Janardhanan; Eric Zusman; Diptiranjan Mahapatra; Shuva Raha; Tulika Gupta; Sumit Prasad

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ad7749

Environmental Research Letters (Jan 2024)

India’s pathway to net zero by 2070: status, challenges, and way forward

Vaibhav Chaturvedi,
Arunabha Ghosh,
Amit Garg,
Vidhee Avashia,
Saritha Sudharmma Vishwanathan,
Dipti Gupta,
Nilesh Kumar Sinha,
Chandra Bhushan,
Srestha Banerjee,
Divya Datt,
Juhi Bansal,
Minal Pathak,
Subash Dhar,
Ajeet Kumar Singh,
Nayeem Khan,
Rajani Ranjan Rashmi,
Shalu Agrawal,
Disha Agarwal,
Anjali Singh,
Thirumalai N C,
Siddharth S Saxena,
Vikram Vishal,
Udayan Singh,
Dharik S Mallapragada,
Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi,
Aditya Valiathan Pillai,
Vibhuti Garg,
Santosh Singh,
Kavya Hari,
Nandakumar Janardhanan,
Eric Zusman,
Diptiranjan Mahapatra,
Shuva Raha,
Tulika Gupta,
Sumit Prasad

Affiliations

Vaibhav Chaturvedi: ORCiD; Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India
Arunabha Ghosh: ORCiD; Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India
Amit Garg: Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad , Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Vidhee Avashia: ORCiD; Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad , Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Saritha Sudharmma Vishwanathan: ORCiD; Kyoto University , Katsura Campus, Kyoto, Japan; National Institute for Environmental Studies , Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
Dipti Gupta: ORCiD; Indian Institute of Management Lucknow , Noida campus, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201307, India
Nilesh Kumar Sinha: ORCiD; Indian Institute of Management Lucknow , Noida campus, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201307, India
Chandra Bhushan: International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST) , C - 902, 9th Floor, Urbtech Trade Centre, Sector - 132 Noida 201304, India
Srestha Banerjee: International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST) , C - 902, 9th Floor, Urbtech Trade Centre, Sector - 132 Noida 201304, India
Divya Datt: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) , New Delhi, India
Juhi Bansal: UNFCCC-IGES Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific , Bangkok, Thailand
Minal Pathak: ORCiD; Global Centre for Environment and Energy, Ahmedabad University , Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat, India
Subash Dhar: UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre , Marmorvej 51, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Ajeet Kumar Singh: ORCiD; The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India Habitat Centre , New Delhi, India
Nayeem Khan: ORCiD; The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India Habitat Centre , New Delhi, India
Rajani Ranjan Rashmi: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India Habitat Centre , New Delhi, India
Shalu Agrawal: Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India
Disha Agarwal: Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India
Anjali Singh: ORCiD; Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy , Bengaluru 560094, Karnataka, India
Thirumalai N C: Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy , Bengaluru 560094, Karnataka, India
Siddharth S Saxena: ORCiD; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , JJ Thompson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom; Cambridge Central Asia Forum , Jesus College, Cambridge CB5 8BL, United Kingdom; British Management University Tashkent , 35 Bobur Mirza Street, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Vikram Vishal: National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization, Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay , Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
Udayan Singh: Institute of Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, United States of America
Dharik S Mallapragada: ORCiD; MIT Energy Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA, United States of America
Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi: ORCiD; Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus , Goa 403726, India
Aditya Valiathan Pillai: Sustainable Futures Collaborative , New Delhi, India
Vibhuti Garg: Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) , Lakewood, OH, United States of America
Santosh Singh: ORCiD; Intellecap , 2nd Floor, Naman Center, C-31, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051, India
Kavya Hari: Intellecap , 2nd Floor, Naman Center, C-31, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051, India
Nandakumar Janardhanan: ORCiD; Institute for Global Environmental Strategies , Hayama, Miura District, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan
Eric Zusman: ORCiD; Institute for Global Environmental Strategies , Hayama, Miura District, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan
Diptiranjan Mahapatra: Indian Institute of Management- Sambalpur , Sambalpur, India
Shuva Raha: ORCiD; Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India
Tulika Gupta: ORCiD; Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India
Sumit Prasad: Council on Energy , Environment and Water, New Delhi 110070, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad7749
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 19, no. 11
p. 112501

Abstract

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The announcement of India’s 2070 net-zero target has demonstrated the power of a credible policy signal and changed the course of India’s climate debate. While the Government of India (GoI) has not specified whether this target refers to carbon-dioxide or all greenhouse gases, the announcement has been a watershed moment in India’s climate policy. From questions related to whether and at what pace should India decarbonize its economy, various actors in India are now aligned towards this target. An important contribution to inform India’s net-zero journey has come through various modelling assessments undertaken by India’s institutions and researchers. While a few economy-wide net-zero modelling assessments are available, a comprehensive and integrated picture woven collaboratively by India’s climate experts is conspicuously missing. It is critical to complement quantitative modelling-based assessments with insightful perspectives of experts on India’s climate policy. Together, modelling based quantitative assessments and insightful qualitative perspectives of climate experts would be an instrumental force that will ensure that the country achieves its net-zero target by understanding synergies and trade-offs, harnessing opportunities, and avoiding risks along the way. This collaborative article discusses various aspects of pathways towards India’s net-zero goal to address the gap in literature by looking at broad and inter-related dimensions of ‘national and sub-national perspectives’, ‘sectoral and technological transitions’ , and ‘enablers’ needed for India’s transition. While the larger net-zero debate relates to all greenhouse gases, we focus on carbon dioxide in our current effort. The assessment aims to inform not just India’s policy makers and stakeholders, but various researchers, practitioners and governments around the world for them to be better aware of the various aspects of India’s net-zero debate. It weaves the perspectives of experts from 24 institutions across the three broad dimensions to give a comprehensive view of a roadmap towards India’s net-zero future.

Published in Environmental Research Letters

ISSN: 1748-9326 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences; Science: Physics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326

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