NAIROBI: Tamil Nadu’s pioneering climate and biodiversity initiatives received high praise from the global community at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, where Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests, shared the state’s ground-tested model for turning environmental recommendations into real-world action.
Sahu spoke at the official Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) side event, “Solutions for a Resilient Planet: Turning Knowledge into Action,” alongside Izabella Teixeira, Co-chair of the International Resource Panel; Frankie Orona, Executive Director of the Society of Native Nations; and Patrick Child, Deputy Director General, DG Environment, European Commission.
Taking forward the GEO-7 call for a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” approach, Sahu described how Tamil Nadu operationalised these principles through the creation of India’s first state-owned, not-for-profit Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC). “We realised a whole-of-government approach is very difficult when departments function in silos,” she said. “So we created a climate company whose board includes all ministries—finance, energy, agriculture, forests—ensuring accountability and coordinated action.”
She explained that this structure allowed Tamil Nadu to run four large-scale climate missions in “urgent, mission mode”: the Green Tamil Nadu Mission, the Climate Change Mission, the Wetlands Mission, and the Coastal Restoration Mission. Together, these missions have enabled the plantation of over 110 million native trees, 2,400 hectares of new mangrove creation, 1,200 hectares of mangrove rejuvenation, and systematic mapping and restoration of wetlands across districts.
Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s 1,068-km coastline, she noted that the state is restoring bioshields, strengthening coastal resilience and placing local and indigenous communities at the centre of climate decision-making.
Sahu also addressed biodiversity loss, calling it one of the most serious concerns flagged in the GEO-7 report. Over the past four and a half years, Tamil Nadu has declared eight new wildlife sanctuaries and notified 103 new reserve forests to expand legal protection for ecologically sensitive areas.
Responding to a question on invasive species, an emerging global driver of habitat degradation, Sahu described Tamil Nadu’s Policy on Invasive Plant Eradication and Restoration, developed through extensive mapping, scientific consultations and community engagement. Working with tribal communities across five tiger reserves, the state has cleared 34,000 hectares of invasive plants and introduced circular models where removed biomass is repurposed through industry partnerships.
Sahu further added that Tamil Nadu is now applying the same whole-of-government approach to community-led carbon action. The state is piloting climate-resilient villages in 10 locations, empowering local communities to measure, report and verify (MRV) carbon stocks, especially in mangrove ecosystems, so that carbon credit benefits can be scientifically assessed and equitably shared.
“Carbon markets will only work if communities have the capacity to measure and verify what they protect,” she said, emphasising that science and policy must be rolled out at the grassroots level.