A customised strategy can take Kerala’s power sector towards its net-zero goals

The progress towards India’s ambitious net-zero goals requires that all states contribute to it. Some states have been quite proactive, announcing their own (state) net-zero targets. Kerala is one of the first states to do this, besides Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and a few more. While India has pledged to achieve net zero by 2070, Kerala aspires to do so by 2050, along with an aim to meet 100% of its energy needs through renewable energy (RE) sources by 2040.

(Re)envisioning inclusive futures: Applying narrative foresight to deconstruct the problem of urban flooding in the slums of Bengaluru, India

Recurring urban flooding in Bengaluru, India, has brought multiple intersecting development challenges to the forefront. While climate change is a catalyst for flooding, rapid urbanisation has aggravated the problem by neglecting its ecological history. Repeated floods have particularly affected migrants living in the slums, further worsening their already vulnerable conditions. Currently, only about 40% of slums are formally recognized by city authorities, leaving most slum dwellers with limited access to public benefits and basic infrastructure.

Policy strategies to decarbonise the buildings sector

The Sustainable Alternative Futures for India (SAFARI) model (Kumar et al., 2021) estimates that the buildings sector—directly and indirectly, through its interlinkages with industry and power sectors—accounts for around 30% of India’s annual energy demand and 26% of the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the increasing rate of urbanisation and the associated infrastructure development, this is expected to rise further.

Press Release: Growing the circular bioeconomy, with a focus on the Global South

Bengaluru, 16 April 2024: The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a research-based think tank, in collaboration with the International Council for Circular Economy (ICCE), published a White Paper titled ‘Growing the circular bioeconomy, with a focus on the Global South’ and presented the findings at the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2024, held at Brussels, Belgium.