Vasudha Foundation in collaboration with the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) and The Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC) successfully organised a workshop on ‘Development of Decarbonisation Strategies in the Indian States’ on Friday, 29th September 2023, at Hotel Taj Vivanta, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The workshop had key participants from the Government of Gujarat and the Government of Madhya Pradesh, namely, Shri. Ajay Prakash, IAS, Director, Gujarat Energy Development Agency, Shri Mahesh Singh, IFS, PCCF and Member Secretary, Gujarat Ecology Commission, Shri. Arun Mahesh Babu, IAS, Managing Director, Gujarat Power Corporation Limited and Managing Director of Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited and Shri. Lokendra Thakkar, General Manager, Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO), Madhya Pradesh. 

In addition to the above-mentioned government dignitaries, we also had representatives from other departments of the Government of Gujarat, industry, academia, civil society and think tanks. 

The workshop had three main sessions: the inaugural session which was followed by two technical sessions.

In the inaugural session, Shri. Ajay Prakash, IAS, Director, Gujarat Energy Development Agency, Shri Mahesh Singh, IFS, PCCF and Member Secretary, Gujarat Ecology Commission, Shri. Arun Mahesh Babu, IAS, Managing Director, Gujarat Power Corporation Limited and Managing Director of Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited, and Shri Shubhashis Dey, Director, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation shared their insights and perspectives on Net Zero with the participants. 

Key takeaways from the Inaugural Session:

• Climate change action needs to have a bottom-up approach starting from the level of local communities/districts/states and extending to the national level.
• Setting timelines for local and regional decarbonisation goals/roadmaps will significantly contribute to the national goal of overall decarbonisation.
• Energy storage technologies like battery storage and pumped hydro can play a pivotal role in the rapid decarbonisation journey.
• State governments are taking a keen interest in harnessing wind potential. For instance, the Government of Gujarat plans to tap the off-shore wind potential despite its high capital cost and is exploring ways to reduce the cost further.

The first technical session was on the theme of ‘Role of Data and Information for Developing Decarbonisation Pathways in India’. Three presentations were delivered during the session, Ms Nidhi Madan from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation on the broad contours and drivers for net zero; Shri. Dipak Khandare from Idam Infrastructure Advisory Pvt. Ltd. on ‘Key elements for industrial decarbonisation’; and Mr Srinivas Krishnaswamy and Mr Raghav Pachouri from Vasudha Foundation who demonstrated the India Climate and Energy Dashboard (ICED).

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion which was moderated by Ms. Amita Pandya, Senior Project Executive, Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA). It had Mr Harish Khiya representing GEDA, Ms Nidhi Madan from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, Shri. Biswajit Roy, Director General, Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI), Dr. Minal Pathak, Professor at Ahmedabad University and IPCC working group III member and Mr. Srinivas Krishnaswamy from Vasudha Foundation as the panellists. 

Key takeaways from Panel Discussion-I:

• Supply-side data for the energy sector is available at higher spatial and time-scale granularity; however, there is a pressing need to have access to demand-side / end-use data for tapping energy efficiency and demand-side management.
• There is a demand for sub-national level dashboards/portals which can cover the entire value chain of the energy, environment, and climate sectors.
• Community awareness plays a significant role in the uptake of climate-friendly initiatives such as solar rooftop and EV adoption
• Often there is a gap between research/work done by research institutes/academia/think tanks and policy formulation. Therefore, there is a need to bridge this gap between different stakeholders
• There is a significant potential for green job creation. Furthermore, there is an immediate need for capacity building and training, especially in the space of renewable energy and green hydrogen.

The second technical session was on the theme of ‘Role of Adaptation Strategies and Localising Climate Action for Overall Decarbonisation of the Economy’. 

The panel was moderated by Ms Rini Dutt, Senior Manager (Climate & Energy), Vasudha Foundation and the panellists were Mr Lokendra Thakkar, Coordinator, EPCO, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Dr Sweta R. Purohit, Programme Director (Climate), Centre for Environment Education; Ms Mrinalika Dhapola, CEO, Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA); Ms Bijal Brahmbhatt, Director, Mahila Housing Trust; and Dr Megha Bhatt, Founder, SciKnow Tech.

Key takeaways from Panel Discussion-II:

• Initiatives around decarbonisation and mitigation will be co-beneficial for clean air, better health, resilient ecosystems
• Micro-level vulnerability assessments (at the district/city level) are needed for better planning
• City/district level plans are needed on climate action, e-mobility, green buildings, green spaces, and water management
• At the sub-national level, the implementation of climate action projects needs to be further strengthened along with scaling up the successful pilots
• A lot of initiatives, especially around building the capacity/resilience of the community, and enhancing the capacity of the women workforce on green solutions are being carried out; however, often these projects are done in silos. This requires consolidation and scaling up
• The involvement of youth and school children as key change makers will be beneficial in the decarbonisation journey. School curriculums can be enhanced with inputs on climate action.

The event was well attended, with over 80 participants from a wide spectrum of stakeholder groups. Participants and speakers both lauded the various works of the Vasudha Foundation, including the India Climate and Energy Dashboard, the sub-national work, and the initiative of organising this workshop.

The participants also made the workshop quite interactive and engaging by providing valuable interventions from the floor. The workshop concluded on the note that this initiative will be further developed to create decarbonisation pathways for the states by incorporating the inputs gathered during the workshop.

An Overview of Western States and their Recent Policy Developments on Decarbonising the State Economy was released during the workshop. Download the overview attached below.