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Vice President of India, Shri. C.P. Radhakrishnan, delivered the inaugural address at the Bharat Climate Forum.
New Delhi, January 9, 2026: The Honorable Vice President of India Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan inaugurated the second edition of Bharat Climate Forum, an initiative launched by the Council for International Economic Understanding (CIEU) and Dalberg Advisors in 2025. The day-long series of high-level dialogues on India’s climate goals and cleantech ambitions brought together government leaders, industry stalwarts and institutional heads such as Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Honorable Minister of Power, Housing and Urban Affairs; H.E. Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (UN SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; and H.E. Selwin Hart, Assistant Secretary General and Senior Advisor for Climate to the United Nations Secretary-General.
The Honorable Vice President Shri CP Radhakrishnan released ‘Blueprint for India’s Cleantech Manufacturing Ambition’, a report developed by Dalberg, and in his inaugural address underscored the centrality of sustainable growth and domestic capability-building to India’s development vision. “For us climate action is not a constraint to development, it is a strategic opportunity to build new industries, create high quality jobs, strengthen energy security and position India as a global manufacturing and innovation hub. We have showed the world that climate action and national development are not opposing goals but mutually reinforcing missions,” he said.
Honorouble Minister of Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Manohar Lal Khattar addressed the Bharat Climate Forum.
The country is making substantial strides in this direction, as Honorable Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, pointed out. “India has advanced its renewable energy ambitions ahead of schedule, demonstrating that growth and sustainability can move together. Guided by the Prime Minister’s vision of achieving 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, the power sector continues to play a central role in India’s clean energy transition,” he said.
India’s efforts to decarbonize have made the country an important role model for the developing world. “India is now among the world’s fastest growing clean energy markets with solar and wind expanding at record levels,” said H.E. Mr. Hart. “In 2025 alone, India installed over 44 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity, almost double of what was installed in 2024. India’s leadership has not stopped at its own borders. Through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, India has reshaped global cooperation on clean energy, mobilizing countries across the global south to accelerate solar deployment, reduce costs and share best practices and build institutional capacity.”
Johannes Zutt, Vice President, South Asia, World Bank Group, affirmed that India needs to simultaneously green its energy supply and energy demand. “Doing those two things together will improve its energy security and at the same time improve the resilience of both households and firms to climate vulnerability,” he said.
Cleantech manufacturing and resilient supply chains are critical not only to meet India’s climate goals but also realize the country’s aspiration to become a developed economy. “India must become the first country in the world to industrialize through the process of decarbonization,” said Amitabh Kant, Senior Advisor, Fairfax Financial and Former G20 Sherpa, Government of India. “This means that we need to declare an industrial war on decarbonization. We are the only country in the world which has demonstrated its ability to do vast amounts of solar. In the next five years, India must demonstrate its ability to become a champion in solar, wind, battery and entire supply chains.”
Looking Ahead: From Ambition to Delivery
In the past year, BCF has demonstrated how domestic manufacturing, climate resilience, and global cooperation can advance together. In its second year, the forum will build on this momentum, translating ambitions to policy, industry actions and investment opportunities.
Ms. Ogunbiyi, stressed the importance of India assuming a leadership role in the Global South and pledged the UN’s support in building “true South-South collaboration and giving India its rightful place as a leader at the intersection of energy, climate and development.”
To become climate resilient, it’s imperative that energy transition be designed around the needs of people and regions, a point underlined by Dr Shamika Ravi, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. “India is laying the groundwork for the next hundred years of sustainable economic growth,” she said.
(From left) BCF Co-chairperson Shri Sumant Sinha (Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew); BCF President Dr. Ashwani Mahajan (National Co-Convenor, Swadeshi Jagran Manch); Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan (Honorable Vice President of India); BCF Convenor Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi (Former Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs & Culture); and BCF Chairperson Shri N.K. Singh (Former Member, Rajya Sabha; and Chairman, 15th Finance Commission).
About Bharat Climate Forum
The Bharat Climate Forum is a national platform in collaboration with Dalberg Advisors and Council of International Economic Understanding (CIEU), that brings together government, industry, and global partners to accelerate India’s transition to a net-zero, self-reliant, and developed economy by 2047. Through convenings, policy inputs, and coalition building, BCF works to indigenize cleantech manufacturing, strengthen industrial ecosystems, and position India as a global leader in climate-smart growth.
Bharat Climate Forum | LinkedIn
About CIEU
The Council for Inclusive Economic Understanding (CIEU) is an independent think tank based in New Delhi. CIEU conducts in-depth research, hosts inclusive dialogues, and develops forward-thinking solutions aimed at reconstructing economies rooted in equity and citizen empowerment.
About Dalberg
Dalberg Advisors is a strategic advisory firm combining the best of private sector strategy skills and rigorous analytical capabilities with deep knowledge and networks across emerging and frontier markets. They work collaboratively across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to fuel inclusive growth and help clients achieve their goals.
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