17^th October, 2023 | Taj Club House, Chennai

Vasudha Foundation in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC) has successfully organised a workshop on ‘Development of Decarbonisation Strategies in Tamil Nadu’ on Friday, 17th November 2023, at Taj Club House, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The workshop was attended by key participants from the Government of Tamil Nadu, industries, academia, civil societies, and think tanks. The workshop was divided into three main sessions: the inaugural session, followed by presentations on decarbonisation strategies, and a panel discussion on mitigation and adaptation strategies to decarbonise the state economy.

Inaugural Session:

In the inaugural session, Shri Shubhashis Dey, Director, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, and Shri Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO, Vasudha Foundation, extended a warm welcome to the dignitaries and participants. They also provided a contextual overview of the workshop.

The special remarks were given by Tmt. Supriya Sahu IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, who discussed the decarbonisation initiatives in Tamil Nadu.

The session was also attended by the notable TNGCC Governing Council members namely Tmt. Nirmala Raja, Chairperson of RAMCO Community Services, Dr. Ramesh Ramachandran, Founder Director, National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), and Thiru. G. Sunderrajan, Co-ordinator of Poovulagin Nanbargal. They shared their valuable insights and perspectives on the decarbonisation strategies in the state with the participants.

Key takeaways from the inaugural session:

• A more people-centric, bottom-up approach involving local communities is essential for developing effective decarbonisation strategies.
• Considering its excellent track record in renewable energy, Tamil Nadu needs to be a torchbearer for other states. The learnings from Tamil Nadu should be modified and adapted for devising strategies for other states.
• Establishing realistic timelines and targets with specific milestones/interventions on decarbonisation and adhering to them, is crucial for crafting effective decarbonisation pathways.
• When looking at decarbonisation strategies, it is crucial to consider not only traditional methods but also new and innovative approaches, as well as community-based solutions for an equitable and people-centric transition.
• While the energy, industry, and waste sectors have well-established carbon-abiding strategies, a focus should be given to other non-energy sectors, like, IPPU, afforestation, carbon management, etc. It is also essential to break down individual sectors further and devise strategies for each subtype within them.
• Quantifying economy-wide emissions for consumption sectors and subsectors, and identifying their emission sources are crucial steps in devising robust decarbonisation strategies.

Presentation Session:

The inaugural session was followed by technical presentations in the context of Tamil Nadu.

1. The first presentation on ‘Net-Zero Tamil Nadu.’ was chaired by Dr. Ramesh Ramachandran and delivered by Mr. Praveen Chandrasekaran, Engagement Lead at CEEW.
2. The second presentation, which centred around the Decarbonisation Plan for Rajapalayam LPA was chaired by Tmt. Nirmala Raja and delivered by Mr. Raghav Pachouri and Mr. Shubham Thakare from Vasudha Foundation. They presented the decarbonisation plan developed by Vasudha Foundation for the Rajapalayam LPA.
3. The third presentation, led by Prof. Kurian Joseph, Director, Center for Climate Change and Disaster Management at Anna University, gave a brief overview of the Climate Studio established at the university and shared some interesting trends on climate change.

Panel Discussion:

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion on ‘Long-term Decarbonisation Planning and Role of the Stakeholders’ and ‘Role of Adaptation Strategies and Localising Climate Change on Overall Decarbonisation’. The panel was moderated by Thiru. G. Sunderrajan, Member of the TNGCC.

The diverse panel included Mr. Sudhanshu Gupta IFS, PCCF, CAMPA, Tamil Nadu Forest Department; Mr. Venugopal A. V., Deputy Manager for Healthy Streets & Partnerships at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP); Tmt. U. Valliammai, Chief Engineer of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, TANGEDCO; Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras; Mr Martin Scherfler, Co-Founder, Auroville Consulting; Mr Sripathi Anirudh, Project Associate, WRI; Mr Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO, Vasudha Foundation; Mr Selvan, Chief Executive Engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB); Dr A. Nambi Appadurai, Director of Climate Resilience Practice, WRI India; and Prof. Kurian Joseph, Director, Center for Climate Change and Disaster Management at Anna University.

Key takeaways from the panel discussion:

• A faster adoption of energy-efficient appliances will play a crucial role in the journey towards decarbonisation. Similarly, the role of energy-efficient buildings utilising natural daylighting and cooling will be pivotal in decarbonisation of the residential and buildings sector.
• A robust policy framework is essential to reduce emissions from construction and demolition waste, establishing benchmarks for material and carbon footprints in large infrastructure projects. The construction industry significantly contributes to process emissions due to materials like cement. Addressing this issue requires a shift towards low-carbon cement, reconsidering building materials, and implementing processes to reduce emissions.
• A robust data management system, integrating sector-specific data across departments, is essential for decarbonisation planning.
• It is crucial to enhance data availability within block, village, and panchayat jurisdictions to facilitate the development of local adaptation strategies.
• Decarbonising the transportation sector would require modelling studies that explore a wide range of scenarios including complete electrification, load shifting with EV charging, and behavioural change including public transport shift, pedestrian walking, and cycling to work.
• Local-level adaptation should be incorporated into development planning and mainframe policies, using simple language for public understanding and awareness.
• Mindful afforestation practices are crucial to prevent invasive species from disrupting local ecosystems.

Over 65 delegates from a wide range of stakeholder groups actively participated in the workshop. The participants and speakers lauded Vasudha Foundation for its various initiatives, including the decarbonisation plan for Rajapalayam LPA, and the initiative of organising this workshop.

The participants also made the workshop interactive and engaging by offering valuable interventions. The workshop concluded with the note that this initiative will be developed further to create state-wide decarbonisation pathways by incorporating the inputs gathered during the workshop.

For more information please download the background note attached below. Also, read the primer on recent policy developments on decarbonising the in the southern states that was released during the workshop.