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This discussion paper analyzes the barriers to adopting climate risk insurance in municipalities within emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), where over 90% of losses remain uninsured. It identifies parametric insurance as a key solution due to its rapid payouts and simpler structure. The paper highlights a significant collaboration gap in the current ecosystem, where few programs engage directly with cities. To address this, it proposes three priority actions: establishing premium support mechanisms, enhancing municipal risk-layering capacity, and reforming regulatory environments to make insurance more affordable and financially viable.

The Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026 report evaluates 21 Indian states across three dimensions: decarbonisation, power ecosystem readiness and performance, and market enablers. It finds that progress is fragmented, with no single state demonstrating consistently strong performance across all three areas, highlighting the need for coordinated, dimension-specific interventions to achieve a system-wide transition.

This report by RMI analyzes the techno-economic pathways for green hydrogen production in India, examining 17 states to evaluate the impact of national and subnational policies on production costs. It compares various project configurations—including stand-alone on-site, CTU-connected, and STU-connected projects—and highlights the critical role of transmission charge waivers and capital subsidies in achieving cost competitiveness against grey hydrogen.

This report examines how six key Indian ports can evolve into green hydrogen hubs. It emphasizes the need for a Common User Infrastructure (CUI) framework and the strategic repurposing of existing assets like LNG terminals. While identifying barriers such as high production costs and land acquisition, it highlights that storage costs optimize at a capacity of 1.0–1.5 megatons per year.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes financial flows to India's sustainable agriculture sector for FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22. It employs a value-chain approach to map public and private funding across upstream, farming, and downstream activities, highlighting a heavy reliance on domestic commercial bank debt and government budgets, while noting a significant gap in international finance and diversified investment instruments.

This policy brief by RMI argues that while battery energy storage systems (BESS) costs in India have dropped by 65 percent over two years, the market remains constrained by regulations that only recognize a single value stream. The document advocates for regulatory reforms to allow 'value stacking'—monetizing energy, resource adequacy, ancillary services, and infrastructure deferral—to ensure grid reliability amidst rising temperatures and record power demand.

This briefing by RMI explores how distributed solar, particularly rooftop solar (RTS) and decentralized renewable energy (DRE), can alleviate the financial distress of India's electricity distribution companies (Discoms) while helping the country meet its 2030 renewable energy targets and modernize its grid.

The 2024 Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) report, published by IEEFA and Ember, assesses the progress of 21 Indian states across three dimensions: Decarbonisation, Readiness and Performance of the Power Ecosystem, and Market Enablers. The report identifies Gujarat and Karnataka as consistent top performers, while highlighting structural challenges in states like Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. It recommends strengthening state-level regulatory frameworks and developing specific state-level transition plans to accelerate the shift toward clean electricity.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines fuel subsidies for marine fisheries in India, identifying them as the most significant form of government support for the sector. The document analyzes the distribution of these subsidies across focus states, their impact on sustainability and equity, and draws lessons from India's broader fossil fuel subsidy reforms to suggest paths for sustainable transition.

This case study document describes the Land Accelerator South Asia program, a World Resources Institute (WRI) initiative launched in 2020 to support entrepreneurs developing sustainable business models for restoring degraded forests and farmlands. The document details the program's growth from a 2020 cohort of 15 businesses to a 2021 cohort of 58, and provides detailed profiles of 11 specific restoration startups operating across India and Sri Lanka.

This research paper by Aditya Nigam analyzes the Indian government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that the state used the health crisis to further a Hindu supremacist agenda, suppress political dissent, and benefit corporate interests while neglecting the welfare of millions of migrant workers.

The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Land Use is a guide by RMI that provides four specific actions for subnational governments to address climate goals through land management, open space conservation, methane capture, and regenerative agriculture.

This policy brief examines the kerosene subsidy system in India, highlighting its financial costs, systemic inefficiencies, and the barriers it creates for the adoption of off-grid solar lighting. The authors argue that reforming these subsidies is essential to transition rural households toward cleaner energy alternatives.

This 2005 research paper analyzes India's marine seafood export supply chain, highlighting a stark contrast between the high hygiene standards of exporters and the poor conditions at the fisherman and supplier levels. While India is a global leader in fish production, the author argues that sustainability requires a bottom-up approach, including the formation of fishermen cooperatives and improved infrastructure at landing centers. The paper also examines the influence of stringent EU and U.S. import regulations, noting that while process regulations (like HACCP) have organized the industry, product regulations based on 'zero tolerance' for residues are often viewed as non-tariff trade barriers.