New Delhi: IIT Delhi researchers from the School of Public Policy have made a significant contribution to a multi-institutional report titled, ‘India's Climate and Energy Frontiers (ICEF)’ that brings together insights from over 350 researchers across institutions, including several IITs, IISc etc.

This report represents a coordinated effort to highlight India-specific transition challenges while advancing solutions that are grounded in the country's socio-economic and institutional context.

As part of this effort, Prof. Kaveri Iychettira, Dr. Dwarkeshwar Dutt, Ms. Medhavi Sandhani, and Prof. Ambuj Sagar, have contributed a chapter titled “Climate Transition Pathways” to the report by Schmidt Sciences. The chapter examines some systemic and socio-economic dimensions of India's energy transition.

The chapter emphasizes that the energy transition extends beyond technological change and is deeply intertwined with social and economic systems. It identifies key limitations in many current approaches, including the narrow focus of conventional planning on technical solutions, the lack of suitable India-specific and integrated modeling frameworks, and the limited incorporation of behavioral, qualitative, and uncertainty-related factors. It further highlights critical socio-economic risks associated with the transition, such as impacts on coal-dependent regions, food security concerns linked to biofuel expansion, and land-use conflicts arising from renewable energy deployment.

To address these gaps, IIT Delhi researchers outline the need for next-generation, interdisciplinary modelling approaches that are better tailored to India's context.

“These recommendations include the use of advanced methods such as agent-based modelling, incorporation of diverse data sources, and enhanced capability to assess urbanization trends, regional employment shifts, and localized economic impacts of national policies,” Prof. Kaveri Iychettira, School of Public Policy, said.

The chapter also underscores the importance of strengthened collaboration across academia, industry, and government to support informed and inclusive policymaking. This chapter paves the way for an exciting research venture led by IIT Delhi, called the Net Zero India Project. A short explainer video on the project is available here: https://youtu.be/tjk2kSrdF-Q

In addition to Climate Transition Pathways, the ICEF report identifies six other priority research frontiers, including key energy technologies, climate finance modelling, land-based carbon sequestration, water and ocean sciences, built environment, and resilient cities.

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