Bengaluru: Kolar could become the first district in Karnataka to be prioritised under the state’s ambitious push to achieve net zero emissions, as govt looks to take its climate action agenda beyond the state level and into districts and urban local bodies.The move comes shortly after Karnataka constituted a dedicated net zero task force to chart a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. Net zero refers to balancing greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere with what is removed, primarily by cutting emissions as much as possible and addressing those that remain.“We have a vision of taking net zero to urban local bodies and districts, and Kolar is one of the first districts for which we are trying to develop a net zero plan,” Upendra Tripathi, vice-chairperson of the task force, told TOI on the sidelines of a climate action event organised by Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) as part of Bengaluru Climate Data Week.The task force, set up in July, is chaired by chief minister DK Shivakumar and has 20 members. “Karnataka’s vision for net zero is that it shouldn’t merely be a carbon budget. It should take three things into account: Global warming, pollution problems and biodiversity loss,” Tripathi said.He said forest and ecology department is already working on a net zero report and that an exclusive one on Bengaluru is being prepared.Tripathi said govt prioritised Kolar because climate change is affecting the huge horticultural hub. “There is a mango crisis there; prices had crashed. There are a lot of agro-climatic zones in the town and it is close to Bengaluru,” he said.The state estimates that the action plan for Kolar will be rolled out within two months after which other districts will be taken into consideration. Additionally, the state is also planning rope in 20 companies working on related sectors to monetize carbon credits.Under the scheme, companies will officially commit before the state govt to reduce at least 0.5 million tonnes of carbon in return for incentives. The model will be similar to the green energy commitments carried out by Union govt in which 293 companies submitted official undertakings to generate 266 GW of renewable energy over a five-year period.