New Delhi, Apr 30: On Earth Day, Climate Asia convened its Annual Conference 2026 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, bringing together nearly 350 participants over two days for 6 closed-door roundtables, 11 panel discussions, and close to 100 speakers, supported by 3 Anchor Partners and 15 Knowledge Partners. Themed Building India’s Climate Ecosystem: Innovation, Talent, Leadership, the conference marked a decisive shift in the national climate conversation from fragmented sectoral responses to a connected, people-centred approach that links livelihoods, health, gender, and economic resilience.
“When we talk about climate, we talk about data and degrees. But climate is really about a mother deciding whether to plant this season, a worker choosing between heat and income, a child breathing air that shouldn’t exist. Until we make that the centre of our work, we are solving the wrong problem.” Satyam Vyas, Climate Asia
Setting the tone on systems thinking and the need for collaborative platforms, Shrashtant Patara of Development Alternatives noted:
“At Development Alternatives, we have always believed in triads — people, planet and prosperity; sustainable livelihoods being at the intersection of work on job-creation, climate change and resource management. More important perhaps in terms of bringing these together in practice, is the urgent need to put together collaborative platforms that leverage the strengths of entrepreneurship, institutions and good old technology — to change systems, at scale.” Shrashtant Patara, Development Alternatives
The first panel, “Building Resilient Livelihoods: Climate Vulnerabilities to Economic Security,” co-curated by Development Alternatives, focused on moving beyond fragmented interventions towards integrated approaches that strengthen livelihood systems for long-term resilience. Sameer Shisodia of Rainmatter Foundation reflected on what it means to truly centre communities:
“We are not walking into a water-stressed place; we are walking into somebody’s home. Health, livelihoods, water, education, festivals—everything matters. Philanthropic and CSR capital may support the system, but the real engine is the people: their knowledge, resources, entrepreneurial energy, and the systems they shape in their communities.” Sameer Shisodia, Rainmatter Foundation
Keynote speaker Deepali Khanna of The Rockefeller Foundation reframed climate change as an immediate economic and social disruption, citing India’s expanding renewable energy footprint and the empowering role of solar-powered systems for women in Uttar Pradesh. She identified three decisive shifts: treating climate as economic strategy, connecting systems rather than sectors, and moving from pilots to scale.
“The real question is not whether we act. It is whether we can move from urgency to execution fast enough, with faster decisions, better alignment, and a clear focus on scaling what works.” Deepali Khanna, The Rockefeller Foundation
Dia Mirza, Actor, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador & United Nations Secretary-General’s Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals, delivered a keynote grounding the climate crisis in lived human experience heat, ecological loss, and disproportionate exposure across communities. In a subsequent fireside chat with Satyam Vyas, she spoke of the underutilised power of storytelling and the urgent need for greater visibility and institutional support for women and grassroots-led climate action.
“The earth is not speaking to us in predictions anymore. It is speaking to us now, through lived realities we can no longer ignore. The question before us is what we choose to do with what is already here.” Dia Mirza, Actor, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador & United Nations Secretary-General’s Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals
A ‘Voices from the Ground’ segment brought frontline realities into focus. Rural entrepreneur Sarika Santosh Pawar from Marwade village, Maharashtra, spoke of how clean energy and sustainable farming transformed her livelihood and her sense of purpose:
“What started as a struggle for stability became a mission to promote sustainable farming, clean energy, and rural livelihoods. Today, my goal is bigger than myself to empower 1,000+ women to become self-reliant and lead change in their communities.” Sarika Santosh Pawar, Rural Entrepreneur, Marwade Village, Mangalwedha Taluka, Maharashtra, SURE (Sakhi Unique Resource Enterprise)
The panel on “Women-Led Climate Resilience: Scaling Local Solutions for Systemic Impact,” co-curated by PRADAN, examined institutional and financing pathways to bring community-rooted solutions to scale. Deeksha Supyaal Bisht of the Ministry of Rural Development highlighted the existing architecture and its potential:
“Last year, 58% of workers under MGNREGA were women, reflecting the scale of participation. Research has shown how India’s rural employment guarantee programme has been instrumental in ensuring paid employment for women and bolstered their empowerment. The architecture exists and is being strengthened under VB-G RAM G, but communities and organisations must come forward to enhance the engagement of women and ensure their active participation in building Viksit Gram Panchayats.” Deeksha Supyaal Bisht, Rural Employment, Ministry of Rural Development
The panel on “Leveraging Parametric Insurance to Strengthen Resilience of Informal Workers Against Climate Risks,” co-curated by Migrants Resilience Collaborative, an initiative of Jan Sahas examined innovative approaches to addressing climate risk for vulnerable labour segments. As climate shocks intensify, the conversation highlighted the importance of financial tools that are accessible, responsive, and aligned with the realities of informal economies.
The panel on “India’s Multi-Energy Future: From Fragmentation to Scale,” co-curated by Green Fuel Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd., drew out the deep interdependence of climate and energy policy and the need for stronger state-level delivery:
“Energy security is increasingly inseparable from climate policy. This directly relates with creating resilient systems for a sustainable reliable long-term energy supply. Stronger state-level implementation, and just transition built on skills, jobs, and social resilience will be at the heart of it.” Dr Divya Sharma, Climate Group
“Any large-scale project requires community concern and approval. That should not be seen as a disadvantage, but as an opportunity where the village becomes the unit of planning and proposal. We need to go back to the villages and scale it out through village packages and local solutions developed from the ground up.” Dr Albert Chiang, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) & Meghalaya Climate Change Centre, Government of Meghalaya
“India’s energy transition is no longer about choosing pathways it is about governance and delivery. As cooling demand rises and climate costs grow, the real opportunity lies in energy-efficient buildings, integrated transport and land use planning, and stronger state-led implementation.” Madhav Pai, WRI India
The conference day concluded with “What Scale Misses: Climate Solutions from the First Mile to the System,” which examined the tension between reach and rootedness. Sonya Fernandes of Ashraya Hastha Trust put the challenge plainly:
“Community consultations are essential, which require funders to engage with communities to understand their aspirations and needs. Sometimes a farm pond may serve small and marginal farmers well compared to recharging groundwater, which might seem sustainable, but do our programme models have the agility to respond? That is where the soul of a programme comes in.” Sonya Fernandes, Ashraya Hastha Trust
Across both days, the Climate Asia Annual Conference 2026 reinforced a clear message: the building blocks of climate solutions already exist — in communities, in data, in local leadership. The task ahead is to connect them with greater urgency, alignment, and accountability.
