New Delhi, September 2: WRI India unveiled a new open-access platform on Tuesday aimed at helping Indian states plan and achieve climate targets more effectively by modelling decarbonization scenarios and their economic impacts.
The Advanced Scenarios and Carbon Emissions Navigation Tool (ASCENT) was introduced for pilot testing at WRI India’s annual Connect Karo event. The interactive platform uses publicly available data to simulate emissions pathways, allowing policymakers to evaluate different policy mixes across sectors such as energy, industry and transport.
“We hope this open-access tool will demystify and simplify net-zero planning for Indian cities and villages. We will be happy if officials, experts, and students test this tool and help us make it more user-friendly,” said Ulka Kelkar, Executive Program Director at WRI India.
Unlike existing models, ASCENT is designed for the Indian context, incorporating local fuels, units and data. Users can customize results to reflect each state’s energy mix, resources and development priorities. The platform also highlights co-benefits such as improved public health, energy savings and job creation.
Officials said the tool can be applied at multiple levels – from states and districts to cities and villages – and is especially useful for anticipating growth in emerging sectors. Results are presented visually, enabling policymakers to compare potential pathways and identify cost-effective emissions cuts.
Feedback from pilot users will guide improvements before wider deployment. WRI India said the tool is intended to support both climate action and sustainable economic development as India works toward its net-zero goals.
