This program brings together three founding members of the High-level Policy Commission on Getting Asia to Net Zero, former Australian Prime Minister and Asia Society and Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd; former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; International Finance Corporation Global Head and Director of Climate Business Vivek Pathak, to discuss India’s path to net zero emissions and the opportunities that it presents. The conversation will be chaired by India International Centre President and former Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on Climate Change Shyam Saran and feature welcome remarks from India International Centre Director K.N. Shrivastava. It will also include the launch of a report from the Commission, Getting India to Net Zero, which draws on new modeling to examine how India can achieve net zero emissions in a manner that is beneficial to its economy, society, and place in the world. The discussion comes ahead of a pivotal moment for Asian and Indian leadership especially, with India assuming the G20 presidency in 2023 and the Asia-Pacific Group hosting COP28.

Speakers

The Hon. Kevin Rudd AC is President and CEO of the Asia Society and inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007 to 2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010 to 2012). He is Chair of the Board of the International Peace Institute in New York, and Chair of Sanitation and Water for All – a global partnership of government and non-governmental organizations dedicated to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6. He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and the Paulson Institute, and a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons.

H.E. Ban Ki-moon is President & Chair of the Global Green Growth Institute, and served as the Eighth Secretary-General (2007-2016) of the United Nations. He is Chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, Chair of the Boao Forum for Asia, and Co-Chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. He is also the Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Ethics Commission, and he serves as Deputy Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders established by President Nelson Mandela. Prior to leading the UN, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea. His 37-year career as a diplomat included postings in New Delhi, Washington D.C., and Vienna, as well as key responsibilities for a variety of portfolios, including as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President, the Chief National Security Advisor to the President, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Deputy Minister for Policy Planning, and the Director-General for American Affairs. 

Vivek Pathak is International Finance Corporation's Global Head and Director of Climate Business. In this role, he looks for opportunities and works to mobilize capital needed to move them forward. He also leads business development, guides standard setting and new product design, and connects the dots across the corporation to mainstream the climate lens into all IFC’s business. He believes that the private sector will be key to greening major sectors of national economies – from energy and transport to agriculture and manufacturing – and is committed to helping clients who are working to move the needle on the low-carbon transition in their countries and communities. Prior to his current role, Mr. Pathak was IFC’s Regional Director. India International Centre Director K.N. Shrivastava will give welcome remarks.  

Shri Shyam Saran (Chair) is a former Foreign Secretary of India from 2004 to 2006, former Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board, and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy For Nuclear Affairs and Climate Change. After leaving government service in 2010, he has headed the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a prestigious think tank focusing on economic issues (2011-2017) and was Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board under the National Security Council (2013-15).

K.N. Shrivastava was appointed as Director of India International Centre by the Board of Trustees. Before joining as Director, IIC, he worked as Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) (March to July 2014) and thereafter as an Administrative Member in Central Administrative Tribunal (March 2015-December 2018). In Government of India, he worked as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture (2000-02), Joint Secretary (Airports) (2006-08) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (2009-10), Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of External Affairs (2010-12). During his tenure of Joint Secretary (Airports), most of the Greenfield and Brownfield airport development projects were started.