Agenda For The Massive Earth Summit

 With 5 days to go for the Massive Summit in New Delhi, it’s a good time to check out the agenda at the summit, in case you are still to make up your mind. It’s a very interesting mix of issues that matter and should be at the forefront of every right thinking person today. Lending weight is some of the most respected and experienced professionals from industry and beyond, both government and private sector. So while you can expect to hear about a whole lot of challenges and the solutions being used to tackle them, expect also to hear about the view from investors, on just when, and how this becomes an opportunity for them too.

Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UNEP is the keynote speaker. Mr Solheim, of course, is a well known Norwegian diplomat and former politician, also remembered for his role in trying to mediate for peace during the Sri Lankan crisis back in 2002.

Another respected name is Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri.com fame who will weigh in on the opportunities for a VC in the disruption caused by climate change.

A very interesting perspective on clean power should come from a doyen of the nuclear power sector in India, Dr. Anil Kakodkar, ex-Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.

A talk on “what is choking Indian cities?” is scheduled by Helena Valdes, Head of Climate/Clean Air UNEP and Lesley Onyon, WHO regional head and is being chaired by Atul Bagai, Head UN India. The talk is followed by a showcase of startups in the pollution reduction industry.

There are two country panels from Norway and Japan, on “coping with plastic & marine litter” and “innovations for clean future”, respectively.

The post lunch agenda includes two startup showcases and talks on “clean food and increasing farmer’s income” and “cleaning Indian cities”. These are followed by a fireside chat with Dr. Ashok Khosla, founder and president o the development alternatives group on “rural economy being the next frontier of growth”.

The last leg of the summit includes four talks. The first one is on “the Indian concept of Jugaad and why it’s not mainstream” delivered by Shailesh Aggarwal, Executive Director BMTC. The second talk is on “clean energy security of India” delivered by Vikram Rao, Executive Director of RTI. Satya Tripathi, chairman of SIFF UN and Satish Mandhana, Managing Director of sustainability, IDFC deliver the third talk of the segment on “attracting billions to the Indian Clean Space”. The closing keynote speech on “Innovations/Capital & India opportunity” is going to be delivered by the Honorable Minister for Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation,   Shri Suresh Prabhu.