EMPHASIS - Exploring Mitigation Pathways for Holistic Sustainable development in Indian States

This interdisciplinary project combines data analysis, energy system modelling, chemical transport modelling, policy narrative analysis, and case studies to assess transition pathways that incorporate equity and justice dimensions.

EMPHASIS is led by CICERO Center for International Climate Research (Norway) in partnership with IIT Roorkee, IIT Bombay, and SwitchON (India), and is funded by the Research Council of Norway.

India has evolved from a nation with relatively low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a significant player in global climate governance. Unlike other major GHG emitters such as the United States, the European Union, and China, India still has considerable development needs and has relatively low emissions per person. With a large and rapidly growing economy, the speed and path of Indiaʼs decarbonization will have major implications for its own development and the global effort to keep the temperature increase “well below 2°C” in line with the Paris Agreement and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Given India's vast area and population, there are considerable variations in resource availability, economic structures, and policy frameworks across different states, adding further complexity to India's energy transition. This diversity not only influences the implementation of energy solutions but also shapes the unique challenges and opportunities faced by each region.

EMPHASIS will use an interdisciplinary, holistic and multilevel approach to assess climate mitigation pathways at Indian state and national levels and their potential synergies and trade-offs with sustainable development in terms of energy security, economic growth, air quality, health and social justice.

The outcome of EMPHASIS will provide decision makers with the knowledge to design effective sectoral mitigation policies considering justice and equity dimensions.

Key questions EMPHASIS will address:

• What are the drivers of sectoral and state level emissions in the past few decades?
• How do the converging and divergent development patterns across different states influence Indian total emissions?
• What implications do these patterns have for the climate policies and sustainable development in the short term?
• To what extent and how are justice concerns and sustainable development integrated into the underlying narratives expressed in policies and related societal debates?
• What are different transition pathways to reach net zero emissions and SDGs considering equity and justice dimensions?
• What uncertainties does India face in its energy transition, and how do they influence choice of decision-making approach?
• What are synergies and trade-offs of different transition pathways in terms of air quality, health, energy security, employment?
• How are the synergies and trade-offs of different transition pathways distributed among genders, income groups, and regions, and what are the implications for justice and equity?