Closed-loop carbon management strategies for climate and energy-resilient India

Climate change, primarily driven by excessive CO₂ emissions, poses urgent global challenges. India contributes over 2,600 Mt CO₂ annually, with ∼80% originating from hard-to-abate sectors, such as power, cement, petrochemical, chemical, and steel. This review highlights the importance of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies as critical pathways to align India's growth with climate goals. India prioritizes point-source capture from flue gases, reflecting its concentrated emission profile. Effective carbon management models must generate high-value marketable products, including fuels, fertilizers, aggregates, and construction materials, supporting a closed-loop carbon cycle. Mineralization pathways enable CO₂-based building materials to strengthen Smart City and infrastructure initiatives, while CO₂-derived fertilizers enhance agricultural productivity and food security. The manuscript also examines India's emerging carbon market, recommending balanced compulsory and voluntary mechanisms, carbon credit incentives, and utilization-driven byproducts. Collectively, it provides an integrated CCUS framework for India that couples emission reduction with economic viability and offers scalable insights for other developing economies.