Climate Change & Sustainability

Developing Financing Pathways for Low-Carbon Targets Implementation

As India’s GHG emissions continue to rise, the country is advancing its transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. In this context, CKD is supporting the Government of Odisha through the project Developing Financing Pathways to Support Low-Carbon Targets Implementation (2025–26), aimed at mobilising finance for the State’s low-carbon transition.

The project focuses on developing a comprehensive financing framework to mobilise investments across key carbon-intensive and transition sectors, aligned with India’s national low-carbon transition goals articulated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

A core component of the project is the establishment of a Technical Support Unit (TSU) within the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of Odisha, to support the mobilisation of low-carbon transition finance and strengthen state-level systems for climate finance planning, prioritisation, and implementation.

The project undertakes a sector-wise assessment of Odisha’s low-carbon transition financing needs and gaps till 2050, drawing on the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC), climate budget tagging reports, and annual budget documents. The work also contributes to the State’s long-term development vision, including Odisha Vision 2036 and 2047 (Viksit Odisha).

People whose future resilience is being mapped through the Climate Readiness Index across 10 states

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Mapping Climate Readiness at a Sub-national Level

Building on CKD’s commitment to strengthening evidence-based climate governance, the project Mapping Climate Readiness at the Sub-National Level (2024–25) aimed to establish a comprehensive system for assessing and tracking climate readiness across Indian states. The initiative focused on India’s top 10 GHGemitting states—Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.

At the core of the project was the development of India’s first AI–ML–based Climate Readiness Index (CRI), integrated with a cloud-based Decision Support System (CRI-DSS). The CRI provides a data-driven framework to assess states’ preparedness for low-carbon transition across three key dimensions: systemic readiness, financial readiness, and technological readiness.

A National Stakeholder Consultation Workshop was organized in April 2025 to refine the analytical framework and ensure policy relevance and state-level policy insights were generated by identifying frontrunner and lagging states with actionable recommendations. A National Climate Readiness Symposium was organised in October 2025 to launch the project report and the CRI-DSS platform officially.

By providing a robust analytical and decisionsupport framework, the initiative has laid the foundation for informed policy-making, targeted climate finance mobilisation, and accelerated low-carbon transitions at the sub-national level.

Scaling-Up Climate Readiness for Mainstreaming through Scenario-Based Low Carbon Pathways Modelling

Building on the outcomes and stakeholder traction from the first phase of the Climate Readiness Index (CRI), CKD is implementing the project Scaling-up Climate Readiness for Mainstreaming through Scenario-Based Low-Carbon Pathways Modelling (2024–25). The initiative focuses on advancing and scaling the AI–ML–based Climate Readiness Index–Decision Support System (CRI–DSS) to support forward-looking, data-driven climate decision-making at the sub-national level.

The project builds upon the Climate Readiness Framework, which serves as a diagnostic tool to assess states’ preparedness to adopt and implement low-carbon transition pathways. In this scale-up phase, the CRI–DSS is being enhanced through the development of AI–ML–based, scenario-driven analytical portfolios for India’s top 10 GHG-emitting states. These portfolios assess systemic, technological, and financial readiness across multiple future time horizons, including 2035, 2040, 2050, and 2070, under different low-carbon transition and Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (SFT) combinations. Through the CRI–DSS, decision-makers are able to stress-test investment pathways, prioritise interventions, and align financial strategies with long-term climate and net-zero targets.

The project also positions the CRI–DSS as a forward-looking climate risk and transition management tool, incorporating scenario assumptions aligned with IPCC Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs).

By enabling states to evaluate readiness across scenarios and timeframes, the project supports India’s efforts to align sub-national action with national climate commitments and accelerate the transition towards low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways.

Integrated Approach to Climate Adaptation with the Private Sector

In the sun-baked fields of Bihar and Assam, where unpredictable rains and shifting seasons threaten livelihoods, smallholder farmers—especially women—are finding new ways to thrive. Launched in November 2025, this 36-month initiative is more than a project—it’s a lifeline for resilient futures.

As the Programme Facilitation Unit, CKD is bridging private sector innovation with grassroots realities.

In Phase 1, it co-creates state-specific climate-smart models with the governments of Bihar and Assam, drawing on proven pilots to introduce resilient seeds, biofertilisers, and watersmart practices tailored to local crops.

Phase 2 rolls out these innovations through FPOs and CSOs, embedding women-led market linkages and tracking gains in soil health, farmer incomes, and social capital. Digital tools like MaaRs integrate with AgriStack and Vistaar, powering chatbots, precise credit, and datadriven advice right to farmers’ phones.

By Phase 3, it will scale lighthouse models, mentor agri-startups, and build a compelling business case for climate adaptation—proving that private investment can unlock sustainable livelihoods.

For farmers in Bihar and Assam who once watched their crops fail year after year, these tools mean steady yields and the ability to pay their children’s school fees.