‘NITK-EMPRI can develop pilot projects to reduce carbon emissions'

The vice-chairperson of Karnataka Net Zero Task Force, Upendra Tripathy, said on Wednesday that the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), Bengaluru, and the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, could develop pilot projects on the west coast through a partnership and work towards a long-term target of reducing half a million tonnes of carbon emissions over the next five years.

The collaboration, he suggested, could begin with achievable targets and scale up progressively through industry participation. Industries joining such initiatives would benefit from the intellectual expertise of NIT-K and EMPRI and from institutional support from the State government. “Once the stakeholders focus together, things will come together,” he said, expressing confidence that the partnership would create significant environmental benefits and serve as a model for future climate action.