India’s construction sector accounts for nearly one-third of the country’s emissions, with cement and bricks alone contributing a significant share. With most of the infrastructure for 2070 yet to be built, the urgency to shift how materials are produced and used is clear. At the Climate Asia Annual Conference 2026, Development Alternatives convened a roundtable to focus on a tangible goal: mitigating 100 million tonnes of CO₂ from these sectors over the next decade.

While solutions such as LC3 cement and improved kiln technologies are already available, adoption remains uneven. Cost concerns, limited awareness, weak demand signals, slow policy enforcement, and gaps in financing continue to hold back scale.

These challenges shaped the discussion across three themes: partnerships, policy, and finance.

Participants emphasised that the transition will depend on coordinated action. As Anand Shukla (SDC) noted, shared responsibility, backed by sustained financial support, is essential to move from pilots to long-term progress.

On policy, government procurement emerged as a key lever to create demand for low-carbon materials, alongside the need to strengthen standards and reduce regulatory delays. On finance, discussions pointed to the need for blended models and risk-sharing mechanisms to make investments viable, especially for MSMEs.

The roundtable brought clarity on what is needed next: aligning actors, incentives, and investments to move from fragmented efforts to scale.