WION World Pulse | Climate change not a buzzword anymore; fresh air a luxury

'Climate change' was once a buzzword and is now our reality. At the WION World Pulse summit on Wedenesday (Mar 19), the conversation addressed climate geopolitics, energy transition, and the rise of sustainable capitalism, while highlighting how green mobility, infrastructure innovation, and technology are driving climate-conscious growth.

The panel at the Planet Pulse session explored how the future of business can successfully align profit with planetary responsibility.

Now a luxury: clean water, fresh air

“I was told not to litter, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, and not waste any food," said Chantal Theron, Head of Learning and Development, Lancers International School, while referring to her childhood when the air was clean, water was fresh, and she played in a clean environment.

“But today, our children are breathing in what we created; they can't breathe clean air, cannot drink water out of a tap, and don't have the same experiences as we did,” she added.

‘From diplomacy to business’: The Asian surge

Erik Solheim, former Norwegian Environment Minister, stressed that the narrative around climate change has completely transformed in recent years. "Earlier, Europe was leading. Now, Asia, especially India and China, is leading," he said.

He explained that climate discussions have moved away from pure diplomacy and are now centred on business and economic growth. To illustrate this scale, he pointed out that China added 315 gigawatts of solar energy in a single year, an amount equal to 12 times Bangladesh’s entire power grid and 10 times Norway’s total hydropower capacity.

Developing nations leading the charge

Ashok Khosla, Founder & Chairman, Development Alternatives Group, said, “Countries like India are actually the champions—the ones driving the agenda and forcing the pace, because they realise that their future, in fact their present, is at stake." He highlighted that the ongoing crises in the Gulf illustrate the vulnerability of economies that are not resilient.

Khosla emphasised that developing countries are the driving force in climate negotiations, while resistance often comes from industrialised nations. “If there is resistance or pushback, it is actually from the North—the people who started the dialogue, who identified the problem, and then chickened out. If it were not for countries like India and African countries, who are suffering the most from climate change, the international dialogue would be much slower than it is now,” he said.

ONGC shifts towards renewable energy

Responding to a question on whether climate diplomacy is increasingly shaped by geopolitics rather than planetary urgency, Ratnesh Kumar, Executive Director, ONGC underscored the need for a balanced and sustainable approach.

He said, “As Mahatma Gandhi has said, 'Nature has sufficient to provide everyone's need, not everyone's greed.' So, nature has its own way of balancing everything. However, a change has come, and we are looking to decarbonise our operation and focus more on renewable energy. We incorporated ONGC Green Limited in 2024 and acquired Ana Power with 2.4 GW capacity. Our target is 10 GW by 2030. We are diversifying into NSMR (Nuclear Small Model Reactor), solar, wind and Geo-thermal other than oil producing.”