Right to Left: Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal (Cabinet Minister for Shipping and Ports, India), Dr. Soumitra Das (Ex. Director, HCI) Mr. Anjan Sarma (Founder, Mahabahu), Mr. Rituraj Phukan (Director, HCI)
HCI Impact Climate Tour - Delhi
February 23 – 28, 2026: World Sustainable Development Summit, IIT Delhi, Meetings with Policymakers, and Civil Society
The fourth leg of the HCI Climate Impact Tour 2026 took place in New Delhi from February 23–28 and focused on building institutional, governmental, academic, and media engagement around the proposed India Climate Cooling Summit.
Strong encouragement for the initiative was received from The Climate Reality Project India, which expressed support for the concept of the summit and willingness to collaborate in its organization and provide institutional backing.
Meetings were also held with several senior government leaders. Biren Baishya, Member of Parliament and former Union Minister, and Pabitra Margherita, Minister of State for External Affairs, conveyed support for the initiative. An encouraging discussion was also held with Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Cabinet Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, who requested that a proposal be submitted for consideration of a Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) pilot project.
Academic engagement included discussions with the Head of Atmospheric Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, who expressed interest in further dialogue on climate research and intervention strategies. Additional policy discussions were held with Abhishek Saxena of the Indian Climate Collaborative and former official at NITI Aayog. Meetings with members of the media were also conducted to encourage informed public discussion on climate cooling research.
The visit coincided with the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). During the summit, discussions were held with TERI leadership as well as with Durwood Zaelke and Zerin Osho of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), with plans to explore potential collaboration.
The engagements reflected strong momentum around sustainable development financing and investment in green growth initiatives. At the same time, the discussions highlighted a gap in the broader climate conversation. While decarbonization and large-scale green investment remain central priorities, questions regarding the management of extreme climate risks—such as escalating heat, glacial instability, water stress, flooding, and systemic climate impacts in a warmer world—remain comparatively underexplored.
