1. Context and Rationale

India's pursuit of rapid developmental goals (urbanization, housing, infrastructure, agriculture) and its commitment to a net-zero energy transition create intense, and often conflicting, demands on land. Land is identified as a critical resource whose scarcity and competing uses are central to both national progress and climate action (including renewable energy, CCUS, and Nature-Based Solutions). The rationale for this session is to move beyond a simplistic view of land availability and address the complex realities, including:

• The socio-economic and environmental trade-offs (e.g., land-locking, biodiversity loss, impacts on community livelihoods).

• The persistence of land-based inequalities and historical conflicts during energy project deployment.

• The absence of nuanced, optimized planning methodologies for siting infrastructure and renewable energy projects at sub-national levels.

The session is essential for providing policy-relevant insights to harmonize national growth targets with the practical, on-the-ground challenges of land acquisition, governance, and community engagement.

2. Objectives of the Proposed Session

The session aims to:

1. Frame the land challenge as a central issue at the nexus of India’s development and climate goals, highlighting the need for a land-centric policy view.

2. Illustrate real-world conflicts and experiences from large-scale renewable energy projects, particularly the reproduction of land-based inequalities and the shortcomings of existing compensation/contract models through case studies.

3. Present a methodology for identifying optimal Candidate Project Areas (CPAs) for renewable energy at the district level, integrating spatial data on socio-economic, environmental, and technical factors.

4. Analyze institutional and administrative barriers by examining how developers navigate land acquisition frameworks and environmental laws, offering insights for better land-use planning.

5. Provide a platform to discuss rethinking trade-offs, improving land governance, empowering local communities, and fostering innovation in deployment strategies.

3. Expected Outcomes

The session is expected to yield the following outcomes:

• A clear, multi-faceted appreciation of the complexity of land constraints in India's energy transition, moving beyond simple megawatt targets to include social, environmental, and governance factors.

• Specific, nuanced recommendations for policymakers at the national and district levels regarding improved land governance, compensation models, and strategies to address land-based inequalities.

• Dissemination of a data-driven, spatial methodology (CPA identification) that can be used by planners and industry stakeholders for more optimized and sustainable infrastructure siting.

• A foundation for future research and policy dialogue on empowering communities and innovating for simultaneous achievement of developmental and energy goals.