Kerala Charts Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2050, 100% Renewable Energy by 2040

By Karmrath News Desk

Kerala has unveiled a strategic roadmap outlining sector-wise interventions across transport, buildings, industries, agriculture, waste, and land use, aimed at helping the state achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and 100% renewable energy supply by 2040.

The report, titled the Carbon Neutral Kerala 2050, is the result of a joint effort between the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Kerala, and Vasudha Foundation, a climate and energy think-tank. It was developed following extensive stakeholder consultations, drawing inputs from various line departments, industry partners, and civil society groups across the state.

According to the report, Kerala already has a relatively low per capita emission of 0.64 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, compared to the national average of 2.46 tCO2e, giving the state an opportunity to move from climate ambition to implementation.

Sector-wise strategies

The report identifies short, mid, and long-term targets, with a focused emphasis on the transport sector, followed by buildings and industries.

In transport, it recommends:

• 100% EV share in new sales of two-wheelers and three-wheelers by 2030
• 100% EV share in four-wheelers and Light Goods Vehicles by 2040
• Addition of approximately 53,000 e-buses
• Electrification of mechanised fishing boats and water vessels

For buildings, the report suggests:

• Meeting 50% of cooking demand through electric cookstoves
• Shifting 41 lakh households from LPG to PNG
• Adoption of star-rated (3 to 5) energy-efficient appliances, with a specific focus on space cooling

For industries, the recommendations include:

• Electrification of 60% of industrial heating, especially for low and medium temperature heating requirements
• Use of green hydrogen for fertilisers, marine applications, and long-haul trucks
• 100% renewable energy-based captive power generation

In agriculture, the report proposes replacing around 16,000 diesel pumps used for irrigation with electric or solar pumps by 2030, and adopting electric tractors and tillers in the long term. It also calls for integrated nutrient management, enhanced efficiency fertilisers, climate-smart rice systems, and improved feed and manure management for livestock.

On waste management, the report recommends 194 MLD of centralised domestic wastewater treatment and faecal sludge management for existing and proposed Sewage Treatment Plants. Carbon sequestration is also identified as crucial to the state's transition. The report estimates Kerala needs to expand agro/social forestry on 631.2 square kilometres of barren or fallow land, and expand mangrove cover from 21.5 square kilometres to 100.6 square kilometres.

Livelihoods alongside decarbonisation

The report emphasises that the transition should generate employment and livelihood security alongside decarbonisation. It notes that the shift to 100% renewable electricity by 2040, along with the expansion of decentralised energy systems such as rooftop solar, behind-the-meter storage, and demand-side management, will create sustained demand for technicians, installers, auditors, and service providers.

In transport, the move to electric mobility is expected to require re-skilling and create employment in emerging value chains, including manufacturing and charging infrastructure. The blue economy, covering electrification of water transport and green hydrogen-based shipping, is expected to generate opportunities in maritime services, retrofitting, and clean energy technologies. In waste management, the expansion of treatment infrastructure and circular economy practices is expected to support jobs in operations, maintenance, recycling, and resource recovery.

Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO of Vasudha Foundation, said, "While the state has set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, our assessments indicate that Kerala has the potential to achieve this milestone as early as the mid-2030s, provided sustained action is undertaken across sectors."

Vasudha Foundation noted that with the launch of the Carbon Neutral Kerala 2050 Pathway, Kerala becomes one of the first few states in India to have a comprehensive roadmap towards carbon neutrality, covering both the 2050 carbon neutrality target and the 2040 renewable energy vision, marking a transition from a thermal power import-dependent energy system to a resilient and renewable energy architecture.

The organisation added that the roadmap is intended to create a favourable investment ecosystem for Kerala's transition and could serve as a template for other states in India, as well as geographies beyond India, to adapt. The Kerala GHG Inventory portal is expected to work alongside the roadmap, allowing the state to measure, report, and modify its climate actions over time.