Chennai: Tamil Nadu could serve as a model for India’s clean energy transition, with a new report pointing to the state’s growing role in attracting investments in the sector through stronger industrial policy.The India’s Climate and Energy Frontiers (ICEF) report, prepared by Schmidt Sciences with India Institute of Technology Madras and other leading national institutions, says stronger industrial policy will be critical for India’s low-carbon growth. “A well-formulated industrial policy can help in creating employment in the sunrise sectors such as solar equipment manufacturing, battery storage, green hydrogen and electric mobility.” The report says India has focused more on renewable deployment than industrial development, while continuing to depend heavily on imports for clean energy components, including 80% of its solar module components and lithium-ion cells, which come mostly from China. It adds, “States such as Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are leveraging industrial policy to attract clean energy investments, and could serve as models.”Alongside clean energy expansion, the study identifies land-based carbon sequestration as another major pillar of the country’s decarbonisation pathway. It says India’s forests, farms and natural ecosystems already have the capacity to absorb nearly half a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year — equal to pulling 113 million cars off the road. “With better monitoring, data systems and coordinated research, this potential could increase by as much as 400%,” the report said.Professor Ashwin Mahalingam, School of Sustainability, IIT -M, said, “The report argues that climate and energy challenges can no longer be solved through isolated sectoral approaches. While scientific progress is advancing in areas such as clean energy, urban design and environmental modelling, the ability to connect these advances is lagging.”The report adds, “About 90% of the infrastructure India will need for its near-term economic goals is yet to be built,” creating what it calls a once-in-a-generation opportunity to embed sustainability from the start.
