India's Climate and Energy Frontiers Report

Key Resources

Mapping the scientific priorities for India’s low-carbon future

India’s Climate and Energy Frontiers (ICEF) report brings together more than 350 researchers from seven leading Indian scientific institutions to define the research priorities needed to build a scalable, low-carbon future for India’s 1.4 billion people.

Developed in partnership with CEPT University, the Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, and The Energy and Resources Institute, the report identifies seven interconnected frontiers —climate transition pathways, key energy technologies, climate finance, land-based carbon sequestration, water and ocean sciences, the built environment, and resilient cities—and argues that India’s progress now depends on moving beyond isolated advances toward integrated systems linking science, industry, government, and civil society.

By highlighting opportunities ranging from clean energy innovation and carbon removal to water infrastructure and urban design, the report frames interdisciplinary, decision-relevant research as essential to accelerating a just, net-zero, and climate-resilient future.

IIT Delhi

Climate Transition Pathways

The energy transition is not solely a technological shift – it is deeply social and economic as well.

$3B

in annual DISCOM savings possible through reform

274 Mt

of emissions could be abated with smarter policy

300K

new jobs from a well-designed energy transition

Key Messages

India can’t cut emissions by cutting growth—it must innovate its way to a low-carbon future (ICEF Report, Ch. 1, pp. 35–52)
99% of emissions-focused studies use modeled data vs. less than half on health, employment, and energy access. This is the frontier next-generation models must address. (ICEF Report, Ch. 1, pp. 35–40)
Agent-based models can eliminate blindspots by simulating labor transitions, trust dynamics, and community impacts (ICEF Report, Ch. 1, pp. 47–52)
Better capacity planning can prevent power shortages projected as early as 2027 (ICEF Report, Ch. 1, pp. 47–52)

Recommendation

As climate modeling improves, India can use it to grow its economy while cutting emissions without harming livelihoods. Better tools can surface linked risks, from lost coal-funded community services to food insecurity and strain on discoms. With India-specific, high-resolution models built through research, industry, and government collaboration, planners can chart a more just and practical path to decarbonization.

IIT Kanpur

Key Energy Technologies

Five technologies can accelerate India’s quest for net zero and energy independence

411 GWh

battery storage target by 2032 — a massive scaling opportunity

26%+

perovskite single-junction efficiency — 0.1-year carbon payback

5 MMT

2030 green hydrogen target

Key Messages

Five technologies can close the gap between ambition and deployment: Solar PV, Green H2, Batteries, CCUS, and Energy Modeling (ICEF Report, Ch. 2, pp. 62–9
Perovskite and cadmium telluride thin-film PV cells offer a leapfrog opportunity for domestic, high-efficiency solar technology. (ICEF Report, Ch. 2, pp. 68–70)
Sodium-ion batteries could be 25-30% cheaper than lithium-ion with abundant domestic materials (ICEF Report, Ch. 2, p. 85)
Perovskite solar cells could leapfrog silicon with 0.1-year carbon payback vs. 1.3 years (ICEF Report, Ch. 2, pp. 68–70)

Recommendation

India should strengthen collaboration across industry, academia, and government to advance solar, green hydrogen, batteries, carbon capture, and energy modeling. These partnerships can accelerate innovation, build talent and supply chains, and speed low-carbon technologies. This approach would help India meet rising energy demand with zero-emission solutions and strengthen its role as a global energy innovator.

TERI

Modeling for Climate Finance

Next-generation economic models can point the way toward financing an Indian economy to adapt, decarbonize, and grow in a changing climate.

model types explore climate finance. None captures the full picture

analytical domains potentially unified in one framework

models fully integrate climate finance with macroeconomic impacts

Key Messages

India’s climate investment gap demands models that connect emissions trajectories to financial flows. Today’s tools fall short — integration is the missing piece. (ICEF Report, Ch. 3, pp. 110–120)
A unified framework across five analytical domains is the proposed breakthrough (ICEF Report, Ch. 3, pp. 102–120)
Current models struggle with non-linearity, rapid change, and the complexity of financial systems (ICEF Report, Ch. 3, pp. 116–120)

Recommendation

With a stronger framework linking climate action and finance, India’s policymakers can better understand how decarbonization pathways, climate risks, and policy choices shape public finance, investment, and adaptation and mitigation priorities. This framework can also show how carbon pricing and fiscal policy affect funding, growth, and resilience, helping India design better policies.

IISc Bengaluru

Forestry and Carbon

India’s forests absorb 521 million tonnes of CO2 a year. That’s like pulling 113 million cars off the road — and the target is to grow this 400%.

521 Mt

CO2e absorbed annually by LULUCF

400%

targeted increase in carbon sink capacity

2.5-3 Bt

carbon sink targeted by 2030

Key Messages

India is the 5th largest global carbon sink. Dedicated long-term research programs can unlock a 400% increase in sequestration capacity. (ICEF Report, Ch. 4, p. 149)
Dedicated 10–30 year research programs can bridge the structural funding gap for forestry projects (ICEF Report, Ch. 4, pp. 149–160)
Diverse forest types and croplands each need region-specific sequestration baselines and growth models (ICEF Report, Ch. 4, pp. 150–160)
Advances in remote sensing and data gathering can expand field research and lower monitoring costs (ICEF Report, Ch. 4, pp. 149–160)

Recommendation

India’s forests, fields, and wetlands absorb over 500 million tons of carbon dioxide a year — equal to taking 113 million cars off the road. Experts say that sink could quadruple within five years. The levers: tighter coordination across agencies, shared open data, standard methods, and funding built for long-term monitoring.

IIT Bombay

Oceans and Water Cycle

Over 75% of India’s rainfall falls in four monsoon months. A 4D Digital Twin can transform how 1.4 billion people manage water.

75%+

of rainfall in 4 monsoon months

interconnected research pillars proposed for India's water future

60%

agriculture is rain-fed

Key Messages

Six interconnected research pillars — from monsoon prediction to water quality. A 4D Digital Twin can unify them into one national infrastructure. (ICEF Report, Ch. 5, pp. 192–193)
A government-backed open platform can unify water data across agencies for the first time (ICEF Report, Ch. 5, p. 193
Coupled ocean-atmosphere-land models can dramatically improve monsoon prediction (ICEF Report, Ch. 5, pp. 195–205)
Water-energy-food nexus modeling can support sustainable resource management nationally (ICEF Report, Ch. 5, pp. 192–205)

Recommendation

India’s water systems touch every life — from monsoon rains and crop yields to disease outbreaks and coastal storms. Tying ocean, atmospheric, and land science into one integrated picture of the water cycle can sharpen forecasts, strengthen early warnings, safeguard harvests, and anchor policy on the water-energy-food nexus for every region.

IIT Madras

Built Environment

$5.8 trillion real estate sector by 2047. A once-in-a-century chance to build net-zero from the ground up.

1/3

of energy use from building operations

$5.8T

real estate sector by 2047

90%

of infrastructure for India’s $30T economy doesn’t exist yet

Key Messages

90% of infrastructure for India’s $30T economy by 2047 doesn’t exist yet (ICEF Report, Ch. 6, p. 240, NITI Aayog)
Regenerative materials: bio-bricks from rice husks, algae foams, plant-based polymers (ICEF Report, Ch. 6, pp. 234–253)
An open, verified emissions database of materials at the plant level can become the foundation for building policy (ICEF Report, Ch. 6, pp. 240–253)
India’s Cooling Action Plan targets 25–30% reduction by 2038 (ICEF Report, Ch. 6, pp. 240–253)

Recommendation

Niti Aayog estimates that 90% of the infrastructure India needs for its 2047 economic goals is yet to be built — a rare opening to design a low-carbon future within a generation through carbon-intelligent architecture, circular materials, digitized building performance, smart energy management, and aligned policy and business models.

CEPT University

Toward Resilient Cities

25 million new urban residents every year. How India builds its cities will define the nation’s climate trajectory.

25M

new urban residents per year

$800B

annual housing & infrastructure investment needed

5-6M

housing units needed per year to meet demand

Key Messages

India’s urban population will double by 2050, adding 25 million new residents each year (ICEF Report, Ch. 7, pp. 279–281)
A phased net-zero roadmap: 1–5 years (planning + climate cells), 5–15 years (BGI + heat resilience), 15+ years (hydrogen transit + circular economy) (ICEF Report, Ch. 7, pp. 274–293)
Mumbai, Surat, and Kochi have co-developed flood risk maps integrating local knowledge — a model for the nation. A phased approach can scale this to every city in India. (ICEF Report, Ch. 7, pp. 279–293)
Since 2008, over 20 million people have been displaced annually by extreme weather events (ICEF Report, Ch. 7, p. 282)

Recommendation

India’s urban population will double by mid-century — 25 million new residents yearly. Low-carbon, climate-resilient cities can deliver the 2070 net-zero goal, shield residents from floods, heat, and rising seas, and extend infrastructure to underserved communities through flood and coastal regulation, Local Climate Zoning, land-use reform, blue-green infrastructure, and regulating urban-rural transitions.