TECH UP THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE

INDIA MUST ADOPT A THREE-STAGE PLAN TO ESTABLISH LEADERSHIP IN CLIMATE TECH

- ANIRUDH SURI

As India's historic G20 presidency approaches its crescendo, it is worth looking back at history to decipher the significance of the moment we are currently living through. History offers interesting lessons for where India may be-and should be-headed in the near future.

In history, humans have lived through various 'Great Games'epochs or eras that have indelibly shaped the geopolitical, economic and societal aspects of our world. From the advent of agriculture to global trade to industrialisation and capitalism, these great games have shaped the key winners and losers of that time. Today, we are living through the 'Great Tech Game'-an era where technological innovation and leadership is shaping the world order and the economic destinies of nations. Unshackled from the political and economic constraints that colonisation placed in our industrialisation journey, India is now equipped to participate and lead in the Great Tech Game.

But leadership doesn't ever come easily. The key to win, especially when a country is not an incumbent leader, is to catch a technological wave early and establish leadership in it. Today, one of those emerging, early technological waves involves climate technology. A suite of technological innovations that will help the world in its climate transition has gathered steam in recent years: from solar panels to EVS to lithium batteries. Others, such as green hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, are beginning to show signs of potentially becoming mainstream in the coming years. These are all being broadly classified as 'climate technology.