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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…
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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 of the discussions, speakers mentioned that the markets for oil, coal, petroleum, and other non-renewable…
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Why Good Climate Solutions Still Struggle to Raise
In multiple investor conversations across renewable energy, carbon capture and water tech, the underlying question was not technical feasibility. It was growth pace. This piece explores the gap between technological readiness and market absorption, and why “too early” is still a legitimate risk in climate investing.
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Bridging the Gap: Commercializing Research Innovations in India
After assessing multiple field-deployed PhD innovations across climate, waste, rural livelihoods and deep tech, one pattern is clear. The science exists. The validation exists. The commercial bridge does not. This is not a talent gap. It is a translational architecture gap.
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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…
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From Prediction to Proof: ESG in Practice at CII-SR 2025
At CII-SR’s ESG & Climate Action Summit 2025, the frameworks were polished — but the friction showed. From circularity blind spots to token DEI, the real gaps are still structural. This is a ground-level unpacking of what India’s ESG evolution looks like — beyond the slide decks.
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Reclaiming Water — Why Chennai’s Climate Party Got Serious
A climate party that flowed from panels to play — how a night of policy, and raw conversations mapped our city’s climate fault lines. The second edition of Climate Party zoomed into Chennai’s most painful, persistent wound: Water. The event themed “Reclaiming Water: Chennai’s Woes & Solutions” was a grounded, needed conversation about the city’s…
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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…
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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.
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Are Bioplastics Going to Save the World?
We hear the word ‘Bioplastics’ being used a lot when we talk of an eco-friendly solution to plastics. But is that the case? Are Bioplastics a true alternative to plastics?