Issue #2

Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Circular Dispatch. Every week, we bring you the developments shaping India's climate transition, the solutions worth watching and the opportunities to get involved. Whether you're here to stay informed, find collaborators or discover your next role, we're glad you're with us.

Let’s begin with the three climate developments that matter this week.

1. Big Tech’s climate promises are colliding with the AI boom

Environmental fallouts of the AI boom have shifted from a theoretical concern to a measurable reality. The latest sustainability reports from Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta show that emissions continue to rise as AI infrastructure expands rapidly. Companies that once promised climate leadership are now building or relying on fossil fuel-backed electricity to power data centres. This tech story intersects with the energy transition at a painful juncture – with heat levels off the charts in much of the world – and makes climate governance and corporate accountability an imperative. Like, yesterday.

Why it matters to you: Whether you work in climate tech, ESG, sustainability, policy or corporate strategy, AI is rapidly becoming part of your job. Understanding its energy and emissions footprint will be essential for everything from procurement and reporting to product design and investment decisions. Expect growing demand for professionals who can bridge AI and climate expertise.

2. China’s clean tech lead extends beyond renewables and EVs

While much of the world is focused on tariffs and trade tensions, China is quietly widening its lead across the clean technology value chain. Recent policy moves go well beyond EVs and solar panels. Beijing is doubling down on smart grids, battery storage, green industrial parks, green hydrogen and direct renewable power for data centres and manufacturers. It is also expanding the grid’s ability to absorb vast amounts of renewable energy.

Why it matters to you: China’s next wave of innovation will influence where investment flows, which technologies become affordable and where Indian companies can compete. If you’re building a startup, investing in climate tech or planning your career, the opportunity isn’t just in renewables. It’s in batteries, grids, industrial decarbonisation, and the software that connects them.

3. Green hydrogen is moving from promise to purchase orders

For years, India’s green hydrogen story was dominated by MoUs and billion-dollar announcements. That is beginning to change, as demand signals become a reality. ACME Group signed long-term export agreements with Japan’s IHI Corporation to supply 405,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually and with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical for 100,000 tonnes of green methanol over 10 years. (Green ammonia is basically green hydrogen in an easy-to-transport form.) These deals create the first real international value chains for Indian green fuels, moving the conversation beyond pilot projects.

There’s also growing domestic momentum. Higher natural gas prices have made renewable ammonia more attractive for fertiliser makers, prompting the government to consider additional production auctions under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

Why it matters to you: The transition from announcements to commercial contracts means new jobs, supply chains and business opportunities are beginning to emerge. Companies involved in engineering, chemicals, ports, logistics, project finance and carbon accounting are all likely to see growing demand as India’s green fuels industry scales up.

This week’s opportunities are a good mix of fellowships, internships, job (of course, duh), and a photography competition. We’re listing a few here, but there are over 30 new listings on the website.

Check it out here 👀

Samvardhan is offering a Biodiversity & Conservation Fellowship to support early-career conservation practitioners through flexible funding, mentorship and peer learning.
📥 Apply by 12 July
📍 India (Hybrid)

CEEW wants a

There’s so much going on over the next week or so that FOMO is guaranteed. Do attend at least one - and tell us how it went!

First, grab your

What's on Your Plate? Food You 'Thought' You Knew, Bengaluru, Karnataka
A hands-on workshop.
👥 The Climate Party®
👉🏽 11 JulyHow Decentralised Energy is Redrawing the World Map, New Delhi
A public lecture and discussion.
👥 TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute and India Habitat Centre
👉🏽 11 July 2026

Share Circular Dispatch

After spending a day with some of India's best data visualisers at VizChitra last Saturday, I came away with an admission: data visualisers often ask better storytelling questions than we journalists do. Not "What does the data say?" But:

• Where does the reader's eye go first?

• What is the one insight they should remember?

• What can be removed without losing meaning?

• Are we making complexity understandable, or just displaying it?

These are questions every journalist, climate communicator and editor should be asking, whether we're working with charts, video, social media or long-form. Here’s the piece I wrote.

The Sustainability Mafia are well-known in Bangalore’s climate circles. Ahead of their annual SusCrunch on 18 July, we decided to look up the backstory. Read Sonam Raina’s report about just who these guys are, what they get up to, and why they love to call themselves the SusMafia.

Leave a comment

See you next week!

Madhur Singh
Team Climate Action Live