Shreya Jai is India's leading writer on the energy sector. She has been writing extensively on policies, issues, and companies in the coal, power, renewable energy sectors and climate change, for 14 years now. Her work on clean energy is regularly cited in government policies, academic papers and research reports.

She is currently Energy Lead at Climate Trends, a research-based consulting and capacity building initiative that is driving sharper conversations on climate change. She has also co-founded and co-hosts The India Energy Hour - India's first podcast for discussion on India's energy transition and climate mitigation plans with leading experts.

In her previous journalist avatar, she worked at Business Standard newspaper for a decade where she led the Energy-Infra vertical for the paper. Prior to that, she was working with The Economic Times newspaper.

Mr. Vinkesh Gulati, a visionary leader at the intersection of the automotive and education sectors, whose career spans strategic leadership, institutional development, and industry reform.

Currently serving as Vice President of the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) and Executive Committee Member of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), Mr. Gulati has been a driving force in shaping India’s automotive ecosystem. As President of FADA from 2020 to 2022, he led landmark initiatives such as the launch of the GenX and Women in FADA verticals, the Dealer Satisfaction Study, and key advocacy efforts on policy reforms.

Beyond the automotive world, he plays a transformative role in education as Senior Vice President of the United Group of Institutions, which includes United University and United Medicity, fostering excellence across disciplines from engineering to medicine.

As Director of United Automobiles, his leadership has been instrumental in building award-winning dealerships across North India, setting benchmarks in customer satisfaction and service.

Mr. Gulati’s dedication to skill development, particularly through ASDC, has empowered thousands of young professionals by bridging the gap between industry needs and workforce capabilities, including in emerging areas like electric mobility and digital diagnostics.

His exceptional contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the ET Inspiring Indian – Iconic Leader in Automotive, the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Inspirational Award, and India’s Top Minds Award.

Runa Sarkar is a Professor with the Economics Group at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Her interests lie in sustainable development where business interests are in consonance with environmental and social interests. She serves as an independent director on the boards of Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited, Climate Policy Initiative and BASIX Consulting and Technology Services. She serves as a jury member for the Excellence in Sustainability Steelie Award of the World Steel Association, an advisory committee member of the Centre for Sustainable Finance, Sustainability Forum, BCC&I, and Climate Change and Child Rights, WBCPCR and as a member of the CII Taskforce on Climate Regulation, Trade and Competitiveness and CII Net Zero Council.

In addition to authoring several journal and conference papers she has edited the India Infrastructure Report (IIR) 2009 and 2010. Her most recent work is a co-edited volume (with Prof. Mritiunjoy Mohanty) titled The Role of Coal in a Sustainable Energy Mix for India: A Wide Angle View (September 2023, Routledge). As co-editors they have another forthcoming (November 2025) open access volume 'Financing Climate Action: India in the Global Context', Routledge, and the Winter 2024-Spring 2025 issue of the IIC Quarterly, 'Energy Transition and Climate Justice: A path Less Travelled '. Prof. Sarkar's insights are especially valuable to conversations on just transitions in emerging economies.

Mr. Gazmararian is a PhD student at Princeton University specializing in the political economy of climate change. In 2023, he co-authored his first book, "Uncertain Futures: How to Unlock the Climate Impasse" (Cambridge University Press), with Dustin Tingley. Currently, he is completing his second book, "Fault Lines: The New Political Economy of a Warming World" (Princeton University Press), co-written with Helen V. Milner.

Dr. Broadbent is a Ph.D. from Harvard University (1982) and is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota.
He specializes in comparative political sociology, with a focus on culture and networks. His seminal book, Environmental Politics in Japan: Networks of Power and Protest (Cambridge University Press, 1998), garnered significant recognition, earning the Best Book Award from the Section on Environmental Sociology of the American Sociological Association (2000) and the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize in Japan (2001). He is also the co-author of Comparing Policy Networks: Labor Politics in the US, Germany, and Japan (Cambridge University Press, 1996).

In 2007, Dr. Broadbent founded the Compon (COMparing Climate Change Policy Networks) project, which examines the politics of emissions reduction across 25 societies. Additionally, he co-edited East Asian Social Movements: Power, Conflict, and Change in a Dynamic Region (Springer, 2011). Dr. Broadbent has an extensive body of work, including numerous journal articles and book chapters, reflecting his broad contributions to the fields of sociology and environmental politics.

Mr. Mehta, the bestselling author of "Backstage Climate: The Science, Politics, and Economics Behind Climate Change", is a distinguished figure in the fields of technology and sustainability. A serial tech entrepreneur, he has successfully founded and scaled two companies. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, he held senior positions at global tech giants like Motorola and Nortel. Recently, Mr. Mehta completed a year-long fellowship at Harvard University, where he deepened his focus on climate change. He is currently spearheading 'Climate Action Labs', an initiative aimed at driving impactful solutions to mitigate the looming climate crisis.

Mr. Lolla is the Asia Programme Director at Ember, where he leads the development of Ember's strategy in Asia. He is responsible for building the organization's data-driven research portfolio for the region and leveraging it to empower organizations across Asia in accelerating the clean energy transition.

Dr. Rud is a Professor of Economics at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research focuses on the intersection of development and labor economics, with particular emphasis on the environment, climate change, agriculture, and natural resources. He earned his PhD from the London School of Economics in 2008.

Mr. Ghose is the Managing Trustee of Water for People India Trust. He has dedicated the last 30 years to the field of development. After earning an MBA in Forestry from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, he began his career working with a tribal community in Gujarat. Throughout his career, he has focused on poverty alleviation and strengthening civil society, with a primary interest in natural resource management, particularly in the areas of land, water, and livelihoods. He has collaborated with several grassroots organizations, including the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), and Agriculture Man Ecology (AME). Additionally, he has worked with funding organizations such as HIVOS, The Netherlands, and the Arghyam Foundation. Currently, he serves as the Country Director for Water for People, India. Water for People work in partnership with communities, governments, and the private sector to ensure water security for some of the most underserved communities in India. Bishwadeep is a firm believer in collaborative approaches between civil society, government, and the market to address complex issues like water governance. He has significantly contributed to the development of practices and policies related to water management and rainfed agriculture in the country.

Mr. Hisham Mundol. He is the Chief Advisor of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in India. In this role he is responsible for guiding the organization’s strategy in the region, focusing on supporting India's journey towards shared, sustainable prosperity. With over 25 years of experience across diverse industries—including consumer goods, manufacturing, media, and technology—Mr. Mundol is a highly respected figure in the business community.

He began his career in the private sector, holding roles in sales, marketing, and consulting with prominent companies such as Unilever, World Tel, Accenture, and Infosys. His transition to the development sector was marked by his leadership in the Government of India’s National AIDS Control Program, where he managed the national condoms program. He later established Wikimedia Foundation’s operations in India, promoting free knowledge through initiatives like Wikipedia in South Asia. Most recently, he led the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation’s efforts in India, focusing on health, nutrition, adolescence, education, gender rights, livelihoods, child protection, and climate change.

Mr.Mundol's expertise lies in climate strategy, innovation, and fostering an Indian pathway to shared and sustainable prosperity- topics he will be addressing in his talk today.

Ms. Aditi Jha is Director & Country Lead: Legal & Government Affairs and a member of the leadership team at LinkedIn India. In her role, she leads the legal and government relations function helping to attain LinkedIn's vision of creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Ms. Jha works with LinkedIn's data scientists and economists to leverage data from LinkedIn's Economic Graph to shape and inform skills and workforce development policies. Prior to LinkedIn, she has worked at one of India's leading law firms, Nishith Desai Associates and at Indian & multi-national companies - ITC Limited & Johnson & Johnson. Aditi earned her LL. B (Hons.) from NUJS, and LL.M. from Stanford Law School, Stanford University, USA. She also holds a certificate in innovation from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business & the Hasso Plattner School of Design.

Amit Bhatt is the ICCT's Managing Director for India. He is based in New Delhi and has over 20 years of experience in transportation, urban development, and management. Before joining ICCT, Mr. Bhatt was Executive Director for Integrated Transport at WRI India for 12 years. Prior to the World Resources Institute he worked with the Urban Mass Transit Company, India's leading urban transport consultancy, and with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi. Mr. Bhatt has a bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's degree in transport planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. He also has a master's degree in economics and a diploma in transport economics and management.

Partha S Bhattacharyya joined Coal India Ltd (CIL) as Management Trainee in 1977and rose to become its Chairman in 2006 till his retirement in Feb 2011. He steered CIL through Miniratna in 2007, Navratna in 2008 and finally Maharatna in 2011. In 2010, Mr Bhattacharyya spearheaded the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of 10% of CIL's equity. It met with resounding success and became a landmark event. The IPO was one of the top three in the World in that year and is still reckoned the largest in India so far in most parameters. In Nov 2003, Mr Bhattacharyya took over the reins of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) - a perennialy loss making CIL Subsidiary - as the CMD. In less than two and a half years, the company reported its maiden profit in 2005-06 that sustained. The implementation of sale of coal through e-auction was first introduced by Mr Bhattacharyya in BCCL and extended later to all over CIL In the 90s, Mr Bhattacharyya played a key role in negotiating a large World Bank/JBIC loan for CIL as well as for securing approval of the Govt to a Capital Restructuring Plan that led to transformation of CIL from a loss making PSU to a hugely profit making company. Mr Bhattacharyya has been featured in a document published by Tata Mcgrow Hill in 2011 as one of the Transformation leaders of Corporate India. He was also recognized by Forbes Magazine as a High Achiever of 2010. He is recipient of a number of awards and accolades. Notable among these are CEO of the year 2010 from Indian Chamber of Commerce as well as World HRD Congress, Swami Vivekananda National Award -2011 & SCOPE Special Award of the Jury in 2010. He has authored WHEN COAL TURNED GOLD, published by Penguin in Aug 2018. The Foreword to the book was written by none other than Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India. The book was chosen as the Editors Pick among business books in 2018. Mr Bhattacharyya is currently the Chairman of Peerless Group Board and also Senior Advisor or Non Executive/Independent Director of several reputed companies like Haldia Petrochemicals, Adperma Ltd, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals, Smartchem Technologies, Ramakrishna Forgings, KCT, Tide water Oil & Texmaco Rail Engineering. Besides, he is a Director on the Board of Colonial Coal International Corporation, Canada. He is also Chairman of the Scrutinity Committee of the Ministry of Coal*

Prof. Ramit Debnath is an assistant professor, academic director, and the Inaugural Cambridge Zero Fellow at the University of Cambridge. He is also a visiting academic at Caltech and the Florence School of Regulation (Global). Dr. Debnath leads the Cambridge Collective Intelligence & Design Group to provide a data-driven, complex system-level understanding of barriers to climate action in the Anthropocene, their interactions, and how these translate to leverage points for policy and behavioural interventions at scale using design thinking. Previously, he has held positions at Caltech, Cambridge Computer Laboratory, the UN Environment Program, the International Energy Agency, Stanford University, and IIT Bombay. Ramit received his PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Scholar and has a background in electrical engineering and computational social sciences.

Ms. Singh is a Climate Change Professional with a decade of international experience in Policy Advocacy, Community Engagement, and Capacity Building, including leading a UNFCCC award-winning initiative – Global Resilience Partnership Programme – to build the climate-resilience capacities of the urban poor in South Asia. Ms. Singh currently wears multiple hats. She serves on the board of the Indian Youth Climate Network and has co-organized the Local Conference of Youth India from 2021 to 2023. She forms a part of the core team, leading the Policy Working Group, of the Asian Youth Empowerment for COP (AYE!4COP- a YOUNGO initiative), the Co-organizer of the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of Youth 2023. She has actively participated in UN Climate Change processes and leveraged her extensive grassroots experience to facilitate intergovernmental policy dialogues as well as empowered youth to meaningfully engage in climate policy and undertake local actions.

Mr. Prayank Jain is an upcoming leader and expert in climate diplomacy, social impact, human security, and sustainability. A lawyer and non-profit sector professional, he has worked with leading organisations in India, the United States, and with global networks. He was most recently the Special Assistant to CEO at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)- India’s leading international climate think tank. He is a lead author of the Stockholm+50 scientific report and has contributed to several international processes, including the Global Climate Overshoot Commission and UN Climate Conferences. Mr. Prayank’s interests include international law and governance, negotiations, climate policy, and migration. He has consulted for diverse organisations: Namati, UNITAR, Congress of Nations and States, Green Pro Bono, Jan Sahas, and the Fletcher School.

Ms. Aurora Audino is a climate policy and sustainable finance consultant at ICF, aiding various Directorates General of the European Commission in implementing the European Green Deal in Brussels. Beyond her professional role, she's a fervent advocate for climate issues and youth causes, representing Italy in national and international platforms. Notably, she served as the Italy Youth4Climate delegate in New York and Rome, head of the Italian delegation at the 2022 G7 youth summit, and participated in COP26 and COP27 as an Observer. Aurora's commitment to empowering youth is evident through her training sessions for over 200 young individuals on climate and energy matters. With a background in environmental engineering and experience studying in Italy, Sweden, and the United States, her expertise and passion drive her work to create a sustainable and livable planet.

Mr. Vladislav Kaim who is a published young Moldovan economist, analyst, climate action, and sustainability advocate. He specializes in matters such as green jobs for youth, just transition, trade-sustainability nexus, and the reforms to the multilateral climate finance agenda. Currently, he is an Expert Consultant on Youth Engagement in the NDCs Process for the Paris Agreement at UNDP. As the UN Secretary General’s first Youth Climate Advisor, Mr. Vladislav co-led the effort on a youth-friendly implementation of Mr. Guterres’ Climate Strategy, particularly on solutions related to a just transition and climate finance. He also was the first lead of green jobs at the official youth constituency to the UNFCCC, spearheading the preparatory work for the Green Jobs for Youth Pact – an initiative initiated by the ILO, UNEP, and UNICEF Generation Unlimited with the view of creating 1 million new green jobs with the existing employers. In the IKEA Young Leaders Forum, he co-authored the first-ever youth opinion for the company’s Annual Sustainability Report.

Ms. Louise Naudé is a Commissioner on South Africa's Climate Change Commission, appointed by the President of SA. She chairs the Mitigation Working Group of the Commission, and participates in the Resilience and Adaptation Working Group. She joined WWF to work on climate change with a focus on mitigation, in national policy and the real economy, with particular expertise in the transport sector. Starting with the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of 2011, Louise has worked on domestic and UNFCCC climate change mitigation policy, including the carbon tax. She led the development of proto business cases for mitigation initiatives in the sectors of agriculture, transport, energy, waste, and cement. She convenes the Alliance for Climate Action SA. She has been a proponent and participant in just transition developments in South Africa from its very inception

Jayanta Basu is an environmentalist, academician and one of India and South Asia's frontline environment and climate communication experts. He is a faculty in Calcutta University, both in the Dept. of Environmental Sciences and Dept. of Journalism. Mr. Basu is also the Founder and Director of the nonprofit EnGIO which has been working closely with several government departments, agencies, nonprofits and multinationals like World Bank, UNICEF, DFID, etc.

He has been playing a key role in the India – Bangladesh joint initiative in conserving Sundarbans; particularly in the context of climate change since 2009; preparing the first of its kind global transboundary document: Media Communication Strategy for Transboundary Sundarbans.

Mr. Basu is a regular contributor and columnist associated with various media platforms, such as The Telegraph, ABP Pvt. Ltd. Climate Channel, Canada; Down to Earth; India Climate Dialogue, Third Pole, Huff Post, etc.

Miss Santosh is the Deputy Director General and Coal Controller in the Ministry of Coal. The Coal Controller Organization is a subordinate office of MOC that deals with coal quality, coal gradation exercise, Mine opening permission, approval of mining plan of coal/lignite of all companies other than CIL Mine closure activities, etc. She is also involved in the Compilation of the National Coal Index & all issues related to it, preparation of Annual Report of Ministry of Coal to carry out all works related to Swachh Bharat Mission as per direction of Ministry of Jal Shakti, analysis of monthly DO report of CIL & its subsidiaries, preparation of Monthly comprehensive report on Coal Lignite & its usage, Cement and Steel production, Coal Import and Coal Import prices etc. and matters related to Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI).

Dr. Brian Motherway is the Head of the Energy Efficiency Division at the International Energy Agency (IEA). In this position, he is responsible for overseeing various analytical and outreach programs that support energy efficiency initiatives worldwide. Additionally, Dr. Motherway leads IEA's Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions, working towards the objective of assisting governments in developing fair and inclusive strategies for clean energy transitions. Before joining the IEA, Dr. Motherway served as the Chief Executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Dr. Maneesh Mishra is the Executive Vice President of the Strategy Division of National Skill Development Corporation. He is also a senior member of Global institute of food , health, nutrition, University of Cambridge and is a visiting faculty at IIMs. He has extensive experience in consulting, training, program management, sustainability and CSR. He has led and been part of many prestigious projects such as World Bank Skill India Mission Operation (SIMO) project at the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, capacity building ecosystem of Unique Identification Authority of India, one of the biggest identity projects in the world.
Dr. Mishra has several research papers and case studies to his name and is a regular speaker at various prestigious forums. He works extensively on Just Transition and Skilling for Climate Change apart from various other aspects of skill development.

Prof Sabuj Kumar Mandal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. He completed his doctoral degree in economics from the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore. His teaching and research interests include Applied Econometrics, Energy and Environmental Economics, Adaptation to Climate Change, Environmental regulation and Firm Performance and Behavioral & Experimental Economics. He has several national and international publications in journals like, Energy Policy, Energy Efficiency and World Development to his credit. He was awarded Young Economist Award 2015 by the Indian Econometric Society for his contribution to quantitative economics. Recently, he was awarded Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award for conducting research in the area of Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change.

Mr. Andrzej Blachowicz is the Managing Director of Climate Strategies, an international organisation working at the science-policy interface with its mission to advance climate policy through meaningful interactions between decision-makers and researchers across Europe and internationally. Most impactful initiatives convened during Mr. Andrzej's over 10 years at the helm of the organisation include: research and dialogue on global coal, oil & gas transitions; implementing Just Transitions in the Global South; industrial innovation; economics of energy innovation, making trade more climate friendly.

Andrzej is also leading international collaboration for the Secretariat of the EU Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition.

Mr. Pilz founded the Brahma Kumaris Solar Department in India and is currently the adviser for renewable energy at the Brahma Kumaris and its sister organisation, the World Renewal Spiritual Trust (WRST).

Mr. A.K. Rastogi is the Ex-Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Forces (HoFF) Jharkhand, and Former Chairman of Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board, Government of Jharkhand. He is currently heading the ‘Sustainable Just Transition Task Force’ constituted by the Government of Jharkhand to achieve a sustainable just transition from fossil fuel to a renewable energy system.

Mr. Ashim Roy is founding General Secretary of the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) and Founding President of the Chemical Mazdoor Panchayat (CMP). Ashim Roy has over 3 decades of experience in the trade union movement.

Ms. Ulka Kelkar is Director (Climate program) at WRI India. She is an economist with two decades of experience in climate change research, capacity building and outreach.

Dr. Vigya is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, part of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Dr. Naidoo is the founder of '' Rabia Transitions initiative'' South Africa and has a stellar 2 year career at the nexus of sustainability transitions ,and finance.

Dr. Winfried Damm joined the GIZ India office in January 2015 as Director of the Indo-German Energy Program. He has a Ph.D. from FU Berlin and had been involved in many national legislative outcomes starting with the first feed-in-law for renewables up to capacity market discussions.

Dr. Michaël Aklin is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds affiliations at the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy and at the Kigali Collaborative Research Centre.

Dr. Sandeep Pai is senior research lead with the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). At CSIS,his work focuses on coal phase out and just transitions.

Dr. Fawzia Tarannum is an Assistant Professor and Programme Coordinator in the Department of Regional Water Studies at the TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS), New Delhi, India.

He is a Distinguished Fellow at TERI and former Special Secretary, MOEFCC GOI.

He is executive Vice President Corporate EHS(Environment Health & Safety) at ITC Ltd. He has 24 years of vast experience in the domain of sustainability including energy security.

He is Associate Director, Integrated Policy Analysis Division at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and has more than 15 years' experience in energy and environmental research and management consulting.

Astha Gupta is an India consultant for the International Energy Agency, a role in which she coordinates the clean energy transitions program, manages relationship with the key energy ministries and think tanks in India and contributes to analysis in several IEA's publications.

Dr. Greg is Associate professor at Kyoto University. His research and teaching is about the governance of energy and sustainability transitions, low-carbon technology diffusion, human-nature interactions and urban sustainability. His research currently is focused on the governance of phasing-out coal and fossil fuels, hydrogen, renewable energy, electric and fuel-cell vehicles, and smart cities.

Prof. T. Jayaraman was formerly Professor and Chairperson, Centre for Science, Technology and Society, School of Habitat Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.