Tamil Nadu Plans Four-District Decarbonisation Drive and Rs 1,000-Crore Climate Fund

Tamil Nadu is working on decarbonisation plans across four districts and has initiated a Rs 1,000-crore Green Climate Fund to support green transition efforts, according to Bakan Jagdish Sudhakar, Chief Executive Officer of the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company.

Speaking at the CII Tamil Nadu Sustainable Manufacturing Summit 2026 in Chennai, Sudhakar outlined the State's targeted decarbonisation measures. He stated that the State government has made an initial commitment of Rs 100 crore toward the Green Climate Fund, while the remaining corpus is proposed to be raised from the market. The fund aims to support businesses across critical domains, including energy transition, the circular economy, and recycling.

Sudhakar highlighted the State's recently introduced passive-cooling guidelines for buildings, noting that their adoption could reduce building energy demand by approximately 30% over a structure's operational lifetime. Implementing these guidelines involves an estimated incremental investment of about Rs 300 per square metre during construction, an expense expected to be fully recovered in less than three years through energy savings.

Addressing long-term sustainability goals, Sudhakar stated that Tamil Nadu is confident of achieving carbon neutrality well ahead of India's national net-zero target of 2070. The State has already established a baseline for greenhouse-gas emissions based on 2019 data, aligned with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines, and is currently mapping out a concrete transition pathway toward net zero.

Also addressing the summit, Ravichandran Purushothaman, chairman of CII Southern Region and president of Danfoss India, highlighted the extensive initiatives undertaken by CII's Centres of Excellence. He noted that the organisation has led key efforts in green buildings, energy efficiency, water management, and broader industrial sustainability.