Comments/ideas: ACFpod@outlook.com

Is India's net zero push real, or just clever PR? Arun Kumar of Asia Research and Engagement joins the podcast to explain why the greenwashing era is ending and why decarbonisation now wins on cost, not sentiment. We dig into the hard-to-abate sectors, green steel and cement, alongside power, coal, renewables, carbon markets, corporate PPAs and how Indian banks are pricing climate transition risk. Essential listening for anyone in climate finance, energy transition and sustainable investment across India and the wider Asia Pacific.

Ref.: Asia Research and Engagement Group, ARE's Asia Transition Platform

ABOUT ARUN: Arun Kumar is a Strategic Advisor at Asia Research and Engagement (ARE), a Singapore-headquartered organisation whose collaborative platform connects institutional investors with large listed companies to accelerate the energy transition. His focus spans the highest market-cap companies in hard-to-abate sectors, Power, Cement, Steel and Automobiles, plus Banks and financial institutions. A recognised expert in India's power sector with over 30 years of experience, Arun brings deep expertise across power trading, management consulting and equity research. He has held senior positions at PTC India, HSBC, KPMG and CRISIL, advising investors, policymakers, regulators and corporates on critical aspects of the energy sector. His work spans Asia, the US, Europe and India. Arun holds a Master's in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics and an MBA from IMI Delhi, plus an advanced certification in Cloud Computing, Data Analytics and Blockchain from IIT Madras.

Recommendations:

• Climate Capitalism by Akshat Rathi: A Bloomberg journalist's ground-level account of how clean technologies, from China's electric cars and batteries to solar, wind and green steel, are becoming commercially viable and profitable.  https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/akshat-rathi/climate-capitalism/9781529329957/ 
• Value(s): Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney: The former Bank of England governor and current Canadian Prime Minister argues that finance and markets must be steered by human values rather than price alone.
   https://books.google.com/books/about/Value_s.html?id=Jz6XzQEACAAJ

HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli  |  MUSIC: Ep76 onward excerpts from Vivaldi’s La Follia, played by Luca Jacobelli.