Sun setting at Connaught Place in Delhi. Photo credit: Ville Miettinen, CC BY 2.0.
India Sustainable Growth Hub (ISGH) webinar series
The Centre for Research on the Economics of Climate, Food, Energy and Environment (CECFEE) at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Delhi and IGC at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) co-established the India Sustainable Growth Hub (ISGH) in 2024. ISGH brings together ISI’s domestic expertise and IGC’s global policy and research ecosystem to generate high-quality evidence for India’s transition to sustainable growth.
Please note that all timings are in India Standard Time (IST)
Webinar 1: Carbon pricing: Modeling climate - Economy interactions
Carbon pricing is quickly becoming one of the main “rules of the game” shaping how countries trade, invest, and grow in a decarbonising world, and India is at the centre of that shift. As mechanisms like emissions trading systems and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) expand, they don’t just influence emissions outcomes; they also affect competitiveness, export market access, industrial strategy, jobs, and the distribution of costs across firms and households. That makes the ability to model carbon–economy interactions critical: India needs credible quantitative frameworks to understand who is exposed, how impacts transmit through supply chains and prices, and what policy designs can protect growth while still aligning with climate goals.
Webinar 2: The macroeconomics of net zero
Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, “net zero” has increasingly become the anchor for global climate policy, reflecting the view that limiting warming to 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, requires reaching net-zero emissions around mid-century. Major emitters like the US, the EU, China, and India have begun translating these targets into policy. As momentum around decarbonization builds across advanced and emerging economies, a central question is how the transition will reshape macroeconomic outcomes, and what it means for fiscal, monetary, and broader economic policy, including in India.
Webinar 3: The political economy of India's coal transition
The Indian coal industry is still growing; over 65% of India's power still comes from coal, new mines are still being auctioned and opened, and the Ministry of Coal's production targets grow year on year. At the same time, the stigmatisation of coal power finance, the obvious negative externalities to air pollution and climate, and India's international climate pledges seem to indicate that at some point in the near future, coal use will decline in India. Given these opposing tensions, this talk discusses why coal is so deeply embedded in the Indian economy, why these transitions are likely to be gradual, and how states and regions need to be brought on board before any real declines in coal usage are possible.
Webinar 4: Counterparty risk in the Indian solar market
The India Sustainable Growth Hub (ISGH) hosts a webinar on counterparty risk in India’s solar market, featuring Nicholas Ryan (Yale), who presents research on how procurement structures shape solar pricing and investment outcomes. Using data from Indian solar auctions, the study finds that state-level counterparty risk raises solar prices by 10% and significantly reduces investment, while central government intermediation removes this premium. Priyanka Dutta and Praveen Kumar provide academic and policy perspectives, followed by an open Q&A. The session highlights counterparty risk as a major challenge to scaling India’s renewable energy ambitions
Webinar 5: Water and Development
Tirthankar Roy
Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)Gopal Naik
Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
E Somanathan
Professor, Indian Statistical Institute (Delhi)Leena Nandan
Distinguished Fellow in the Earth Science and Climate Change Division, TERI The India Sustainable Growth Hub (ISGH) is delighted to invite you to the next talk in our webinar series, featuring Professor Tirthankar Roy (London School of Economics and Political Science). His talk will examine how water management has shaped economic development, environmental transformation, and political institutions across arid and semi-arid tropical regions, drawing from his most recent book Water and Development: The Troubled Economic History of the Arid Tropics and previous academic work.
Dr. Gopal Naik will be chairing the session. Professor E.Somanathan (Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi), will offer an academic perspective drawing from his work, and engaging with the insights from the book. Leena Nandan, former Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, will provide a policy perspective. The session will conclude with an open Q&A.
We would be delighted if you could join us for this discussion. Please feel free to share this invitation with colleagues and others in your network who may be interested.