CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has emitted 184 MTCO2 (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2019 and has a long road ahead to achieve net zero, according to the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory released by the state government on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu is the first state to come-up with GHG inventory to draw pathways for net zero transition. With the help of partner institutes like Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), the government hopes to chalk-out a transition plan and decarbonise its economy without compromising on growth.
According to the report, which was released by Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin during TN Climate Summit 2.0, the state’s energy sector alone accounted for 77% of the state’s total emissions at 141 MTCO2, out of total 184 MTCO2, followed by the agriculture, forestry and land use (AFOLU) sector at 22.5 MTCO2 (12.3%), waste emissions at 12.2 MtCO2 (5%) and industrial process emissions at 10.5 MTCO2 (5.7%).
As Tamil Nadu aims to become $1 trillion economy, the energy needs are expected to increase significantly and so are the emissions. As per CEEW assessment, the state’s total electricity consumption for 2020-21 stood around 110 billion units (BUs) and the demand would triple by 2070, by when India must achieve net zero. Tamil Nadu being one of the most industrialised states has an important role to play. Chief Minister MK Stalin announced recently that the state would become carbon neutral before 2070.
Bumpy road ahead
The CEEW report says Tamil Nadu would need nearly 475 GW of solar and 90 GW of wind power (including offshore) to achieve net zero emissions by 2070. To achieve this, an investment of over Rs 15 lakh crore would be required by 2050 for both solar and wind powers combined.
It is imperative for Tamil Nadu to reassess the state’s solar and wind potential. Authorities say this is not impossible considering the state aims to attract investments worth `23 lakh crore, as per the vision documents presented during the recently concluded Global Investors Meet. In addition, to support the growth of the manufacturing sector, an investment of $236 billion is likely to flow in by 2030.
Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary (environment, climate change and forests department), said Tamil Nadu has started the process to draft a long-term net zero transition plan for which the GHG inventory would serve as baseline data. “We will make course corrections and update the inventory periodically.”
V Arun Roy, secretary, industries department, said it is important to know the source of emissions to draw the pathway for achieving net zero. “The data is showing GHG emission from AFOLU sector has increased from 4% in 2005 to 12% in 2019, while emissions from other sectors are either decreasing or stable.”