India international climate and energy transition finance forum: navigating the path to a sustainable future

The Wheeler Institute hosted the India International Climate and Energy Transition Finance Forum where experts came together to discuss critical issues surrounding climate finance and energy transition.

Moderated by Dr. Narayan Naik, Professor of Finance at London Business School, the panel featured distinguished speakers such as Upendra Kumar Sinha (Former Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India), Dr. Shakil Ahammed (Additional Chief Secretary of Meghalaya), Noreen Jameel (Broadcaster and Journalist), and Sanmit Ahuja (Founding Director of Climate & Energy Transition Finance Initiative). Together they explored practical solutions, regulatory frameworks, and financial mechanisms to address the pressing climate crisis.

Communicating Climate Change Effectively

Noreen Jameel opened the forum by emphasising the importance of effective communication in driving climate action. She highlighted the need for a paradigm shift in how we address climate issues, especially to resonate across bipartisan divides or even with climate-change sceptics. “Numbers are important,” she remarked, “but they must be made digestible.”

According to Noreen, building confidence in climate data requires disseminating the right information through various platforms, such as social media including short video platforms like TikTok, however it must be backed by ethical reporting. In today’s media landscape, a one-size-fits-all approach to climate messaging is no longer effective according to Jameel. Instead, diverse communication channels, rooted in transparency, are crucial for capturing and retaining public attention.

Climate Regulation in India’s Securities Market

Upendra Kumar Sinha followed, discussing India’s regulatory approach to climate issues in the financial sector. He detailed how regulators in India are adopting a slow but methodical approach to embedding climate goals into the financial market. One key aspect of this approach is the creation of investment trusts that focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.

These trusts, Sinha explained, provide platforms for driving climate-focused investments. For instance, ESG-focused investment trusts can enable investors to contribute to projects aligned with sustainable goals, including renewable energy, while helping companies meet climate benchmarks. This methodical approach ensures long-term alignment with India’s climate goals.

Innovative Approaches to Climate Finance

Providing forward-looking strategies on climate finance, Sanmit Ahuja noted that while 85% of the technology required to address climate issues already exists, the challenge lies in reallocating resources from the Global North to the Global South. “The transfer of these technologies often leads to lower returns due to market challenges,” Ahuja stated, emphasising the need for governmental support in scaling these businesses. One crucial point he raised was the financial need for developing countries: “The developing world will need $5.9 trillion by 2030 for nationally determined contributions and an additional $4 trillion annually to meet clean energy targets.”

Key levers for change

Ahuja outlined largely three strategies to meet these financial needs:

Leveraging Scale in Emerging Markets: With 70% of the world’s population living in emerging markets, manufacturing and assembling clean energy products in these regions can reduce costs, driving affordability and scalability.

Risk Reduction and Market Development: He stressed the importance of developing more fund managers with expertise in emerging markets, as well as the creation of technology insurance as an asset class to guarantee returns for investors. By acting as market makers, emerging markets can attract foreign investors and mitigate the risks associated with large-scale energy projects.

Concessionary Finance: Governments and institutions, such as the World Bank, will need to play a pivotal role by providing concessionary finance to absorb risks, thereby creating space for private capital to scale clean energy ventures.

Addressing India’s Climate Risks

Opening the floor to attendees during the Q&A session, participants discussed the specific climate risks facing India, emphasising regional variations. Northern India grapples with the effects of crop burning, leading to air quality issues, while droughts plague the southern regions. In the northeast, flooding is a recurrent challenge, making water management a critical issue across the country. Additionally, air pollution remains a pervasive concern, especially in urban areas, where it contributes to a decrease in life expectancy.

The conversation also touched on the need for additional financial structures to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India’s energy transition. One suggestion was to increase funding for less-established markets, allowing SMEs to scale up and contribute meaningfully to the country’s climate goals.

The future of climate finance

The India International Climate and Energy Transition Finance Forum provided a platform for robust dialogue on how to finance and scale solutions to meet India’s climate challenges. By leveraging emerging markets, reducing risks, and enhancing public and private sector collaboration, the speakers illuminated a path forward for achieving sustainable development goals. The next steps will involve continuing to build regulatory frameworks, ensuring better climate communication, and creating innovative financial solutions to unlock the full potential of clean energy.

The Climate & Energy Transition Finance Initiative (CETFI) launched their flagship paper: New Approaches to Climate Finance – Models for the Global South last month. The paper can be downloaded by request from CETFI.

In a follow-up conversation between Narayan Naik and Sanmit Ahuja, they explored the key levers necessary for achieving success in climate finance.


About the Climate and Energy Transition Initiative (CETFI)

The Climate and Energy Transition Finance Initiative (CETFI) was initiated in 2023 as a multi-stakeholder alliance of interested parties that wish to effect a faster rollout of climate solutions and energy transition projects. CETFI is primarily focused on the global south as the needs for access to long term, low cost, concessionary and non-recourse finance are much more pronounced in these markets.

CETFI is managed by the Bharat Technology and Impact Accelerator (bharatia.org), an impact organisation for the global south, with Mr. Sanmit Ahuja, climate finance specialist, leading the efforts as its Founding Director along with more than 20 financial experts.

Find out more on the CETFI website now.


About the speakers

Upendra Kumar Sinha is a former chairman of SEBI. His term started in February 2011 and he served as SEBI Chairman for six years. He was the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Unit Trust of India Asset Management Company (UTIAMC), commonly referred to as UTI Mutual Fund. He is a member of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), belonging to the Bihar Cadre. He currently serves as an Independent Director of Adani-owned TV channel NDTV, where he is also the Non-Executive Chairperson.

Dr. Shakil Ahammed, has held key roles including Director of Tourism, Joint Secretary and MD of the National Horticultural Mission, and CEO of the National Centre for Cold Chain Development. He has also worked with the Prime Minister’s Office on the Saubhagya Mission. Internationally recognised, he received a UN Award in 2003 and IUCN recognition in 2021 for his conservation project, ‘Water, Life and Livelihood.’ Dr. Ahammed holds a course in Strategic Thinking and Global Leadership from Cambridge and is currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources, Government of Meghalaya.

Sanmit Ahuja (LBS MBA 2004) is an environmental and sustainability expert specialising in building multi-stakeholder ecosystems, technology transfer and green finance. He has developed over 30 projects in water, waste, renewable energy, and agriculture sectors and serves on several government panels and boards including Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga). He is the Founding Director of CETFI, leading climate finance initiatives and collaborating with organisations
like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, The Commonwealth, EU and more.

Narayan Naik is Professor of Finance at London Business School. He is recognised as one of the leading experts on asset management in general, and hedge fund investing in particular. Over the last decade he has authored a significant body of work in the investment management area on  benchmarking, performance evaluation, tail-risk hedging and market microstructure. His work has appeared in the top finance journals, leading practitioner journals and financial press. Professor Naik’s teaching includes: Project & Infrastructure Finance, Strategic Investment Management, Equity Investment Management and Wealth Management.

Noreen Jameel is an Emmy award winning broadcast executive. Currently serving as Foreign Editor at a leading British Newspaper in charge of a division rebuild. Expert in climate content and messaging. Former Head of foreign News at Vice News Tonight. TV Show and content creator. Safety and logistics expert. Part of the start up team for Al Jazeera English helped create the news gathering operation for a global network, budgets and staffing. Diversified career with multi-platform output, digital and developing content. Working on various new exciting media startups.


About the author

Donald Innocent-Ike, MBA2025 is an Outreach and Communications Intern at the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. After graduating from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering & Economics and a Master’s in Computer Science & Quantitative Finance, Donald worked as a Graduate Research Assistant, before becoming an Associate at Truist Securities in Atlanta. He has a keen interest in finance, development, and business as a force for good, particularly in emerging markets.


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