WSDS Agenda 2026

An Innovation Mela from and on the Himalayas by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

Showcase of Sustainability Initiatives by WSDS Partners & TERI

Moderator: Ms Teena Jha, Sansad TV

• H.E. Ms May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India, Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi
• Ms Dechen Tsering, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Mr Amit Patjoshi, CEO, Palladium India
• Ms Martina Otto, Head of Secretariat of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, United Nations Environment Programme
• Ms Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests

• 10:00 - 11:30 am: Bridging Innovation and Action: Swiss Startup Solutions for India’s Sustainability Priorities – Swissnex, TERI, WRI India 

• 12:00 - 1:30 pm: Green and Resilient Built Environment for Viksit Bharat – Opportunities and Challenges – JSW Cement 

• 2:30 - 4:00 pm: Building Demand for Green Steel in India: Public Procurement as a Lever to Accelerate Decarbonisation – IECC, Climate Catalyst, CII 

• 4:30 - 6:00 pm: Women at the Frontlines of Climate Action, Biodiversity & Land Restoration -Community-Led Pathways to achieve SDGs – GEF, MoEF&CC, UNDP 

Moderator: Mr Ranjit Barthakur, Founder Forester, Balipara Foundation

• Mr Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Hon’ble Governor of Manipur
• Dr Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal
• Ms Nameeta Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• Mr Durwood Zaelke, Founder and President, Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development
• Ms Sonali Ghosh, Director, Kaziranga National Park, Assam
• Mr Ram Kumar S, Secretary, Planning, Government of Meghalaya
• Mr Mingma Tempa Sherpa, Commissioner cum Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Government of Sikkim
• Dr Dipankar Saharia, Senior Director, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Moderator: Ms Seema Paul, Programme Director, India, Sequoia Climate Foundation

• Mr Bob Keefe, Executive Director, E2
• Mr Yoshinori Kodama, Principal Fellow, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
• Mr Michael Walker, Chief Executive Officer, STAX Engineering
• Dr Sangita M Kasture, Advisor & Scientist 'G', Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• Prof Veena Sahajwalla, Scientia Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney
• Mr. Shreyas Shende, Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab, Johns Hopkins

• Mr R. R. Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow, TERI (Moderator)
• Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon'ble Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (tbc) (Ministerial Address)
• Ms Anacláudia Marinheiro Centeno Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat (Global Leadership Address)
• Mr Amitabh Kant, Ex-Sherpa, G20 India and Former CEO, NITI Aayog (Keynote Address)
• Mr Ashish Khanna, Director General, International Solar Alliance (Keynote Address)
• Dr Charles Ogilvie, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Ocean Energy Pathway (Leadership Address)
• Ms Mansi Madan Tripathy, Country Head, Shell Lubricants India Cluster (Leadership Address)
• Mr Shankar Iyer, Director – Transportation, Smart Cities and Sustainable Infrastructure, Johnson Controls India (Leadership Address)
• Mr Naveen Ahlawat, President & Head – Sustainability & Decarbonisation, Jindal Steel Limited (Leadership Address)
• Mr Vinit Adarkar, Vice-President and Head - Interior and Exterior Modules, Mercedes Benz Research and Development India Pvt. Limited (Leadership Address)
• Mr Sudhir Pathak, Chief Science and Technology Officer, Hero Future Energies (Leadership Address)
• Prof Deo Prasad, Distinguished Professor (Scientia), University of New South Wales, Sydney (Leadership Address)

• Mr Manjeev Singh Puri, Former Ambassador to the European Union & Distinguished Fellow, TERI (Moderator)
• H.E. Mr Madhav Prasad Chaulagain, Minister, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal (Ministerial Address)
• H.E. Dr. Dammika Patabendi, Minister of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka (Ministerial Address)
• H.E. Dr Muaviyath Mohamed, Minister of State, Tourism and Environment, Maldives (Ministerial Address)
• Mr Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Keynote Address)
• H.E. Mr Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, BIMSTEC (Keynote Address)
• H.E. Mr Mattias Frumerie, Climate Ambassador & Head of Delegation to UNFCCC, Swedish Ministry of Climate and Enterprise (Keynote Address)
• Prof Frank Biermann, Professor of Global Sustainability Governance, Utrecht University (In Conversation)
• Dr Tom Rivett-Carnac, Co-Founder and President, Global Optimism (In Conversation)
• Ms Patricia Fuller, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Institute for Sustainable Development (In Conversation)
• Dr Kira Vinke, Head of the Center for Climate and Foreign Policy, German Council on Foreign Relations (In Conversation)
• Mr Ovais Sarmad, Vice Chair, Green House Gas Protocol Steering Committee (In Conversation)

Showcase of Sustainability Initiatives by WSDS Partners & TERI

An Innovation Mela from and on the Himalayas by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

Moderator: Ms Leena Nandan, Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India

• Ms Frauke Roeser, Founder and Managing Director, NewClimate Institute
• Mr Amit Prothi, Director General, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
• Prof Anand Patwardhan, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland
• Dr Sujata Gupta, Asian Development Bank
• Ms Valerie Hickey, Group Global Director for Environment, The World Bank
• Dr Annapurna Vancheswaran, Sustainable Development Practitioner
• Mr Dipak Dasgupta, Distinguished Fellow, TERI
• Prof Benito Müller, Managing Director, Oxford Climate Policy
• Ms Kanmani Chockalingam, Senior Fellow, McKinsey Global Institute

Moderator: Ms Priya Shankar, India Director, Climate and Environment Program, Bloomberg Philanthropies

• Ms Luísa Salgueiro, Mayor, Municipality of Matosinhos, Portugal
• Ambassador Arne Walther, Former Secretary General of the International Energy Forum and Former Chairman, International Energy Agency
• Ms Ita Kettleborough, Director, Energy Transitions Commission
• Mr Manu Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary, New & Renewable Energy Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh
• Mr Sharad Pungalia, Country Head, Gentari India
• Mr Himal Tiwari, Chief Human Resource Officer, Chief Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Power
• Ms Anjali Acharya, Managing Director, The Nature Conservancy India

• Mr Tanmay Kumar, Secretary (Environment, Forest and Climate Change), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India
• Ms Dia Mirza, Goodwill Ambassador, United Nations Environment Programme
• Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India
• Ms Isabelle Tschan, Deputy Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme
• Ms Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Co-Founder & Chairperson, Sustainability, ReNew
• Dr Ash Pachauri, Co-Founder and Senior Mentor, POP (Protect Our Planet) Movement
• Ms Prachi Shevgaonkar, Founder, Cool The Globe
• Mr Nitin Desai, Chairman, TERI
• Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI
• Dr Shailly Kedia, Curator, WSDS; Director, TERI