• The gravest of soul shattering failures are also the greatest of learning curves. Embrace them as much as the spectacular successes in career and in life.

• One of the profound learnings has been to decouple learning with the cv and the certificate. It is a survival skill, a life skill.

• Too few startups and nonprofits do not focus on growing the revenue function with dedicated resources and teams. It is as important as the fancier product conversation.

Climate capital is the fuel that will move the needle on climate resilience, as adaptation should be the focus especially for at risk climate geographies. Loss and Damage makes for good optics. The global north aka rich countries want to survive hence climate action is an agenda otherwise sadly it would not.

It makes resources to have agency, to act and think of a better world. ‘Poverty-rianism’, a Shekhar Gupta neologism is an apt reference here- as poverty only looks aesthetic in Ray movies. Lack of resources stunts intellectual capacity to take long term action.

The main people who say money does not matter are the people with money. Let us all find a way to meet adaptation needs through climate capital. None of the resource colonialism arguments shall matter in an unlivable world where the poorest only suffer. Emissions reduction will be patchy are variegated with a reflection of the power dynamics of today. The global north exists within the global south with the elites migrating to places where their families and assets are secure.

Leave the abstract theory building to the seminar room, climate action needs action, and it is not a h-index temple run for tenure.