Track 11: Low Emissions Development Strategies (LEDS)
Key Details
Submission Requirements: Extended Abstract (1000 words)
Submission Link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=imrc2025
Awards: Two Best Papers: INR 10,000 each
Call for Papers
As the world races to limit temperature rise within 1.5 to 2°C, achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 is a critical challenge. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores the urgency, yet emissions are deeply embedded in economic activities, making rapid reductions complex.
Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) provide structured frameworks to balance decarbonization with economic transformation. Over 100 countries have pledged net-zero goals, with 75 Parties submitting LT-LEDS to the UNFCCC (as of January 2025). These strategies align with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), guiding policy, investment, and workforce transitions toward low-emission pathways while integrating climate action into national development plans (LTS Portal).
However, uncertainties such as technological costs, shifting political priorities, and evolving consumer behaviour add challenges. The UNFCCC’s 2023 Synthesis Report highlights key LT-LEDS trends, including strong mitigation-adaptation integration and financial planning, with 59% of submissions emphasizing transformative change. India’s LT-LEDS targets net-zero by 2070 while balancing growth, energy security, and climate justice. Its strategy spans seven key areas, including low-carbon power, sustainable transport, urban resilience, industrial decoupling, CO2 removal, afforestation, and financial mechanisms.
The India Management Research Conference (IMRC) invites scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to contribute to the LT-LEDS track, exploring policy frameworks, financial mechanisms, technological innovations, and socio-economic dimensions of net-zero transitions. Join us in advancing research and dialogue on effective LT-LEDS implementation within the following broad themes:
- India’s LEDS Submission to UNFCCC: Policy insights and roadmap
- Food and Land Use (FOLU) sector and emission reduction: Sustainable agriculture, reforestation, community stewardship and food systems transformation
- Energy Transition: Renewable energy adoption, energy efficiency, and grid decarbonisation
- Low Emission Urban Development (Urban LEDS): Urban and regional planning focusing on low emissions development, smart cities and urban analytics, transportation decarbonization, green infrastructure, affordable housing, cultural and heritage preservation, and disaster resilience.
- Financing and Implementation of LEDS: Public and private sector collaboration.
Call for Papers and Panels
We invite high quality extended abstracts (of 1000 words max.), related to the conference theme or any other aspect of LT-LEDS research in line with IMRC’s aims and research priorities. All submissions will be evaluated by the IMRC Scientific Quality team and a very limited number of high-quality submissions which have a potential to be published in top tier field journals will be accepted. However, a limited number of papers that may not be academic but have a very clear and strong policy focus and/or create a novel discourse will also be accepted.