Climate Workforce Summit
Powering India’s Green Workforce Transition.
As India accelerates its transition to a green economy, the need for a skilled climate workforce has never been greater.
The Climate Workforce Summit, organised by Ashoka-Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellowship, brought together leaders across industry, policy, finance, and academia to explore one critical question:
How do we build the workforce required for India’s climate transition?
About the Summit
The Climate Workforce Summit marked a key milestone in the Climate Corps journey, bringing together stakeholders to reflect, collaborate, and shape the future of climate careers in India.
The summit served as a platform to:
- Spotlight workforce as a critical lever for climate action
- Share insights from organisations leading sustainability transitions
- Highlight emerging career pathways in climate and sustainability
- Foster collaboration across sectors
Why This Summit Mattered
The global green transition is driven by three forces: technology, finance, and people. While technology and finance often take centre stage, the workforce powering this transition is equally critical, and often under-recognised.
Over the past five years, Climate Corps has contributed to building this workforce by:
- Training climate professionals
- Embedding them in organisations across sectors
- Enabling real-world sustainability impact
The summit brought the “people dimension” of climate action to the forefront, focusing on skills, talent pipelines, and workforce transformation.
Key Themes & Discussions
The summit explored a range of themes critical to workforce development:
Summit Highlights
A Day of Insights, Dialogue, and Collaboration
The summit was designed as an immersive experience featuring:
Fireside Chat
How regulation is reshaping the climate workforce
Panel Discussions
- Skilling India’s workforce for the green transition
- Moving beyond compliance in corporate sustainability
Climate Corps Showcase
Real stories of fellows and their impact across organisations
Closed-Door Roundtable
Conversations with CXOs and CHROs on building future-ready organisations
Mentorship & Networking
Curated sessions connecting aspiring professionals with industry leaders
Closing Synthesis
Key insights and pathways for action
#OpenDoorClimate LIVE
In partnership with The Climate Party
A standout feature of the summit was #OpenDoorClimate LIVE, delivered in collaboration with The Climate Party.
Designed to address a common question:
“How do I start a career in climate?”
This curated, 90-minute networking and mentorship experience brought together professionals across domains to engage in meaningful, small-group conversations.
What made it unique:
- Curated roundtable discussions with climate professionals
- Direct access to diverse career pathways: investing, consulting, corporate sustainability, and policy
- Honest, experience-led conversations (beyond panels and presentations)
- A safe, open space for early-career professionals to ask questions and explore pathways
The session bridged the gap between aspiration and action, helping participants move from curiosity about climate careers to clarity on next steps.
Celebrating 5 Years of Climate Corps in India
The summit also marked five years of Climate Corps in India!
Over the past five years, Climate Corps in India has grown from a fellowship into a platform connecting talent with real-world climate action.
A Journey of Impact
Each engagement has helped organisations move from ambition to implementation.
Building the Climate Workforce
Climate Corps addresses a critical gap: the need for professionals who can translate climate goals into action.
Through training and hands-on projects, fellows develop the skills to:
- Navigate sustainability challenges within organisations
- Work across technical, financial, and strategic dimensions
- Drive meaningful climate outcomes
As demand for climate talent grows, Climate Corps will continue to expand pathways into sustainability careers and strengthen the workforce driving India’s transition.
Five years in, the focus remains clear:
Build the people who will power climate action.
Contact climatecorpsindia@ashoka.edu.in for any queries.
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Environmental Defense Fund and Climate Corps is the registered trademark of the Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. Used with permission.
