WRI India's ASCENT Empowers States to Preview Climate Outcomes Before Making Policy Moves

The ASCENT tool by WRI India facilitates accurate climate target planning for states. It offers interactive decarbonization scenarios using local data, aiding policymakers in effective decision-making.

A new tool developed by WRI India, the Advanced Scenarios and Carbon Emissions Navigation Tool (ASCENT), was opened for pilot testing at its annual flagship event, Connect Karo, on Tuesday. ASCENT aims to help state governments plan and achieve their climate targets with greater accuracy and efficiency, while guiding decision-makers in identifying the most effective pathways to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support economic growth.

ASCENT is a user-friendly, interactive platform that uses publicly available data to model decarbonization scenarios for Indian states. As an open-access tool, it allows policymakers, researchers, and the wider public to engage with its insights freely. Unlike other tools, it is tailored to the Indian context, using local fuels, units, and data to provide outputs that are highly relevant and actionable.

"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, WRI India.

The tool can be customized to each state's unique energy mix, resource availability, and development priorities. Users can select a state, choose from sectors such as energy, industry, or transport, and apply a mix of policy measures to see how emissions projections change under different scenarios. Results are displayed visually, enabling policymakers to compare pathways side by side and identify strategies that achieve the greatest emissions reductions at the lowest cost. ASCENT also allows users to assess co-benefits such as health improvements, energy savings, and job creation, ensuring decisions are informed by both environmental and socio-economic outcomes.

The tool can be applied at any scale-from states and districts to cities and villages-making it valuable for both urban and rural planning. It also enables users to evaluate sectors that are currently small but expected to grow rapidly, ensuring strategies remain forward-looking. Feedback from pilot users will help refine ASCENT, keeping it practical, relevant, and effective in supporting climate action across India.