In 2009, the U.S., China, India, Brazil, and South Africa drafted the Copenhagen Accord at COP15, the United Nations’ annual Conference of Parties on climate change. The Accord recognised climate change as one of the greatest challenges of our time. Developed countries at COP15 pledged to invest over USD 100 billion into developing economies, a goal that was met in 2022. This is a promising start to an issue that has become increasingly pressing in a time of rising temperatures, erratic weather, and natural disasters. Experts estimate that current global investment in climate must increase by 590% in order to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2030.  

South Asia faces severe climate risks, with rising floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events. Climate change threatens food security and may displace 63 million people by 2050. Per the Asian Development Bank, the region requires an estimated annual investment of USD 200 billion to reach its Nationally Determined Contribution goals but received only USD 46.8 billion in climate finance from both private and public sources in 2018-2019. Bangladesh and Nepal have allocated significant amounts of their national budgets to climate action, becoming less reliant on international organisations and banks. Yet most of this funding has been directed to mitigation ventures rather than adaptation or development, suggesting a “band-aid” approach rather than a proactive attempt to build resilience or adaptability.  

Nevertheless, investor appetite for green enterprises is an encouraging start, driving everything from transport electrification to solar energy to sustainable housing. South Asia is the only region in the world that has access both public and private climate finance in almost equal proportions. Private entities like corporations (38%), households (31%) and commercial financial institutions (30%) have invested in fields such as agriculture, tech, and renewable energy. Given that the gap in South Asia remains significant — current financing needs to increase tenfold in the next decade to meet NDCs -- what are some funding and financing interventions that work, and how can the government and private sector be mobilised?  

In ‘Climate Finance in South Asia,’ we will explore: what is the current state of the climate funding ecosystem across South Asia, including the major players and their roles in the system? What are the relative merits and impacts of different types of funding; how far can they go in sustaining change; and how are entrepreneurs responding to the scale and problem of the climate crisis? Our panelists are Neha Jain, founder, ZeroCircle; Priya Shah, General Partner, Theia Ventures; and Farwa Aamer, Director, South Asia Initiatives, Asia Society Policy Institute, who will be moderating the conversation.

This is the third session of Wide World: Climate in South Asia, this year's edition of our annual summer learning series, taking place virtually over June and July. Over four sessions and with panels of experts, we will explore the ways in which climate change affects South Asia, and the steps being taken to mitigate its effects. The programs look at climate justice; climate advocacy; climate finance; and wildlife conservation. 

SPEAKERS

A Google alumna with over 15 years of experience in technopreneurship, ZeroCircle is Neha Jain’s second entrepreneurial venture. Her journey into algae entrepreneurship began as a sustainability tech consultant, searching for innovative solutions that brands could adopt as scalable models. She founded ZeroCircle in July 2020, in the middle of the raging COVID-19 first wave in India. Today, Neha and her company have patented the technology to create seaweed-derived materials that are sustainable and ocean-safe alternatives to synthetic plastics and paper. Zerocircle recently launched their seaweed-coated products for the F&B industry with brands that are taking an intentional stand against petro-plastics.

Farwa Aamer is the Director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) in New York where she oversees the institute’s policy work and projects in South Asia. Prior to ASPI, Farwa worked at the Stimson Center where she led research on the security, political, and socio-economic dimensions of transboundary river governance in the Himalayan region. Through her work, Farwa has organized and convened high-level Track II dialogues and discussions designed to facilitate greater inter-and intra-regional cooperation on issues and opportunities concerning water, energy, climate change, and sustainable development in South Asia, MENA, and Central Asia. Farwa also worked on highlighting the disproportionate impacts of climate change and water insecurity on women. From 2017 to 2021, Farwa was with the EastWest Institute (EWI) and served as the Director of the South Asia program. At EWI, Farwa worked on promoting non-traditional channels of diplomacy and establishing multi-stakeholder platforms for shared economic, financial, and geopolitical interests by bringing together policy shapers, media influencers, thought leaders, and business experts from within South Asia and across the globe. 

Farwa received her Bachelors of Science degree in Economics from University College London (UCL) and has a Masters in Management with Finance from BPP Business School, London. 

Priya Shah has spent 17 years working across the finance, policy, and venture sectors in the US, UK, and Indian markets.  She is an early investor in India’s climate tech venture ecosystem and a Director on Sustainability Mafia, one of India’s largest climate founder coalitions.  She is actively involved as a mentor, advisor, and thought leader with several think tanks, university labs, accelerator programs, and foundations on climate tech innovation, a Board Member on the University of Cambridge’s Alumni Advisory Council, and an advisor to Brown University’s Young India Leadership Council and Women’s Launchpad program. 

Before Theia Ventures, she built the Indian Fund arm of Yunus Social Business (YSB), a global impact venture debt fund founded by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, where she led investments into companies such as S4S Technologies (Earthshot Prize Winner 2023), Rangsutra, Virohan, SMV Green, Just Organik and Hasiru Dala. Prior to YSB, Priya spearheaded strategy, capital raising, and special projects at a clean-tech, venture-backed, growth-stage company, Simpa Networks.  She began her career at Bloomberg LP in New York and later at Asia House in London. She has led independent consulting projects at impact start-ups and investment firms, such as Acumen and British International Investment.   

She holds an MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School and a BA in History from Brown University, where she is closely affiliated with alumni initiatives on gender diversity, international scholarships, and climate-focused entrepreneurship.