The Climate Justice Math Everyone Avoids
Nepal is right to demand compensation, not aid. But holding India and China accountable for today's choices doesn't let colonial powers off the hook for yesterday's.
Category Policy and Politics
They Called Sustainability ‘Idealism’ Until Governments Started Preaching Austerity
I have spent years being politically stereotyped for speaking about climate resilience, localisation, resource dependency, and mindful consumption. Too left. Too right. Too idealistic. Too cynical. But the uncomfortable reality is that ecological collapse and systemic instability do not pause themselves to accommodate political comfort or public distraction.
Everyone Thought the 2026 Energy Crisis Would Speed Up the Shift to Renewables. It Didn’t.
I’ve been watching how the US–Israel–Iran war is playing out across global energy systems, and something doesn’t add up.
Everyone assumed that if fossil fuels became unstable, the world would naturally accelerate its shift to renewables.
But that’s not what’s happening.
What’s actually unfolding is much messier. Governments are scrambling for short-term survival, fossil fuels are becoming profitable again, and the very supply chains needed to build clean energy are under stress.
This is not a transition story.
It’s a systems stress test.
Big Oil Players Are Funding Both Sides of the Energy Transition
A personal observation on how climate action still ends up tied to Big Oil because of where the capital sits Last year, I was at a sustainability conference where the event was powered by the Indian Petroleum Corporation. During one…
Backstage Climate: Riding the Tiger of the Anthropocene
30 years after Michael Jackson’s Earth Song, and as COP30 begins — the question’s still the same: “What about us?” :earth_africa:
Here’s my review of Backstage Climate by Rajan Mehta — a book connecting science, politics, psychology, and justice through a systemic, intersectional lens — showing how we triggered the Anthropocene, how we’re living inside it, and how we might just survive it.
Circular Economy in EV Batteries: Inside the Closed-Door Conversations at IIT Madras Research Park
India is the third-largest battery importer — and by 2030, will be sitting atop 2 million tonnes of waste.
At IIT Madras Research Park, a closed-door roundtable asked: will this be a crisis, or a $50B opportunity?
From Battery Passports to second-life reuse, stakeholders confronted the bottlenecks head-on.
This moment could mark the turning point for India’s EV battery circular economy.
From Vulnerability to Vanguard: How Chennai & Tamil Nadu Are Rewiring Climate, Energy, and Industry
Chennai often makes headlines as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable coastal cities. But beneath that narrative, the city and state are scripting a bold new playbook. From restoring mangroves, marshlands, and ponds to deploying marine patrols and smart waste systems, Chennai’s grassroots climate projects show what adaptation looks like on the ground. At the same time, Tamil Nadu is rolling out mega-infrastructure—from a Green Hydrogen Hub in Thoothukudi and a Fintech City in Chennai to defence corridors, semiconductor labs, and the second ISRO spaceport.
What’s emerging is a pattern: climate resilience and industrial ambition are aligning along Tamil Nadu’s corridors of defence, energy, IT, and logistics. For startups, this means opportunities are ripening in defence tech, space tech, hydrogen, nuclear, semiconductors, and clean supply chains. Vulnerability, in other words, is turning into vanguard.
The Billionaires’ Rage for Blue Gold: A Future Dictated by Bottled Water
The growing trend of influential entities, like billionaires and corporations, investing in water rights and markets poses a troubling threat to water equity and access. As the debate between treating water as a commodity or a basic human right intensifies, we need to address governance issues and work towards sustainable and equitable solutions and firstly be vigil and learn to future-proof ourselves.
The Nuclear Investment Surge along with AI & Quantum Tech
Now here’s the paradox:
While AI and quantum computing are digitising everything,
…the climate industry wants to electrify everything — to cut emissions.
Why?
Because smart devices are central to climate resilience.
From monitoring and prediction to optimisation — smarter energy infrastructure cuts costs, improves access, and boosts efficiency.
Green Flags, Red Flags, and Khaki in Between
The rising climate × defence crossover—and what it means for justice, capital, & conflict. Tracking the quiet shift of climate innovation toward militarised infrastructure and security-first funding.