But before you do, consider subscribing. We drop one weekly digest every Friday.
For decades, an increasing number of Indian coffee growers and traders have obtained Rainforest Alliance certification to verify their environmental, social and governance cred. But, some in the sector say, there’s now so much certified coffee available globally that there’s no “green premium” – growers investing in better labour and environmental practices don’t necessarily get better prices.
On Wednesday, I was at small roundtable with people representing brands, traders, NGOs and growers. While India has successfully branded its coffee as sustainable (shade-grown), they said, it has failed to establish flavour as its USP. To me, the obvious missing piece is storytelling.
Consumers don’t buy certifications. They buy the story you sell them. Colombia has Juan Valdez. Ethiopia has origin stories stretching back centuries. There’s no equivalent story about Indian coffee, despite its extraordinary biodiversity, distinctive growing regions and farmers adapting to climate change. Watch our space for exactly these kind of stories going ahead.
Meanwhile, I’ll be attending an IIM-B event on AI and Intelligence for the Clean Energy Transition. AI’s role in forecasting renewable generation, balancing the grid and accelerating materials discovery has immense potential. But how do we prevent the very infrastructure powering AI from becoming more energy-intensive and more exposed to climate risks? Look out for some answers in the next issue.
It’s been a season of records – record-breaking heat and rainfall – but the silver lining has been record-breaking renewable production. For the first time, solar and wind together generated more than 100 GW of electricity in India, meeting nearly 43% of the country’s power demand at one point. It’s not just a capacity addition record this time, but actual production and utilisation. A sign that renewable energy is now a mainstay of India’s energy mix.
The milestone reinforces a theme that has emerged repeatedly in Climate Action Live’s reporting. Building solar parks is no longer India’s biggest challenge. Integrating them into the grid is. Experts say the next phase will depend on investments in battery storage, transmission networks, flexible electricity markets and smarter grid management. Read Sainath Gurav’s three-part series. And Sonam Raina’s news explainer on India’s new rules on local manufacture of solar cells, in an effort to balance capacity addition and self-reliance.
Why this matters to you: The decisions taken now on batteries, transmission and grid flexibility will determine not just whether India meets its climate targets, but also how much you pay for electricity and how vulnerable the country remains to global energy crises. Follow the policy direction to know where investment will flow and jobs will be created.
At Climate Action Live, we’ve been Sonam Wangchuk fans since long before he became the face of protests by the Cockroach Janata Party. Decades ago, he was quietly showing the world what climate adaptation looks like, pioneering the Ice Stupa in Ladakh, an artificial glacier that stores winter water and releases it during the spring growing season, helping farmers adapt to shrinking Himalayan glaciers. He also founded SECMOL and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, reimagining education around sustainability, local knowledge and practical problem-solving.
The ongoing student protests by the satirically named Cockroach Janta Party had all but petered out until Delhi Police came to the movement’s rescue. Jumping the gun on a Delhi High Court order asking for the protest-fasting Wangchuk’s condition to be monitored and medical treatment administered if necessary, the cops whisked him off to hospital, cleared the protest site and handed a flagging movement exactly what it needed to reawaken: attention and a fresh wave of outrage. The protest which started from an Instagram page has since been electrified, IRL. Even as the Delhi police and the Rapid Action Force break a leg in the protest, tens of thousands have taken to Jantar Mantar in solidarity from across the country, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has broken his silence to promise action against those found guilty in the exam paper leak scam that set off the protests, while the demand for resignation is yet to be made.
Wangchuk remains our hero – he has thankfully broken his fast and will hopefully recover his health soon. As for the cockroaches, we made a comic in solidarity with the young and inspiring.
Why it matters to you: The Cockroach Janata Party may have been born out of an exam paper leak, but its real fuel is youth frustration, born out of a high unemployment rate, especially among educated graduates. India's clean energy transition is tied into this. The climate of the nation will ultimately be judged not just by the gigawatts it the energy transition it adds, but by whether it creates millions of decent jobs and ensures no generation is left behind.
We have over 50 new opportunities over at Career Catalysts, our job listing portal. Here’s a wee sampler:
Lead – CSR, Tata Technologies Europe
Lead CSR strategy, ESG reporting, sustainability initiatives, volunteering programmes, and net-zero roadmap implementation while managing large-scale CSR projects.
📥 Applications open
📍 Pune, India (On-site)
Senior Research Officer/Research Officer, Hornbill Conservation Project
Join the Hornbill Conservation Project's Research Division to conduct wildlife conservation research, biodiversity monitoring, and ecological field studies.
📥 Apply by 26 July
📍 India (On-site)
Oxford Certificate Programme in Climate Solutions and Strategies, Skillup for Earth
Develop practical skills in climate risk assessment, clean energy transition, and climate decision-making through an Oxford-affiliated certificate programme.
📥 Applications open
📍 Online (Virtual)
India Green Energy Expo 2026 (6th Edition), Bengaluru, Karnataka
An international conference and exhibition bringing together renewable energy producers, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, policymakers, investors, and industry leaders to showcase innovations across India’s clean energy ecosystem.
👥 Media Day Marketing
👉🏽 29-31 July 2026
India Carbon Summit 2026, New Delhi, Delhi
A high-level national summit focused on building India’s carbon economy through discussions on carbon markets, biochar, nature-based solutions, climate finance, and policy frameworks.
👥 Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA)
👉🏽 30 July 2026
The Global Sustainability Summit (GSS) 2026, New Delhi
A high-level global summit bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, academics, and institutions to discuss sustainability, decarbonisation pathways, and India’s global leadership in climate action and sustainable development.
👥 Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD-CMI)
👉🏽 30-31 July 2026
FIVE TRUTHS For the better part of two decades, Ashirbad’s work has been taking climate evidence from the researchers who produce it, to the people it concerns. Some of it has aged well, but not all.
“When I look back, I find that every miss had the same habit underneath – I started with the climate problem and got to the audience later. That habit taught me five uncomfortable truths […]”—Ashirbad Raha, Five Uncomfortable Truths about Making Climate Evidence Count
The writer is Communications lead for the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute in South Asia.
ONE LIE Vegan fashion is automatically better for the planet. Except, it isn’t. Interest in vegan fashion has surged over the past decade. Part of the appeal comes from what psychologists call the halo effect, a cognitive bias in which one positive characteristic shapes our overall judgement. Because plant-based diets have consistently been shown to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water consumption compared with diets rich in animal products, many consumers have come to associate the word “vegan” itself with environmental responsibility.
But from plastic-based leather to polyester "silk", the environmental reality is far more complex. How? Our report on the hidden plastic in vegan fashion by Sanjukta Mondal breaks it down.
WELCOME BACK to the 8th episode of Climate Action Live's infamous Drawdown Quiz! Transfolk, ladies, gentlemen, queer kids, and talking animals of the world ALIKE, are you questionable enough in this century of able-isms?
Even if it is a maybe, Berty welcomes you aboard! And the best part is, it is no sham, but all science, no fence-sitting here. So do your best, and make yourselves proud questionable fellow sailors! The 🔗 to our latest is here. Onwards and upwards! May the 8th be WITH YOU!
Oh, and, do you know what the word "drawdown" means? Comment 👇🏽 with your answer NOW, and your scores LATER.
Madhur Singh & Gulal Salil
Team Climate Action Live
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.