The Adani West Lounge, 31082024

Aeromobilities.

Airports are hardly ‘non-places’ (Auge 1995). Rather a space which are full of possibilities, of anticipation and of deep emotional connection.

Sustainable or Responsible Finance at the present is about calibration of the negative externalities of fund allocation in institutional lending. Capitalism in the climate era will soon make all forms of lending factor in carbon data as a proxy for good environmental governance at the deal scale.

What we need is the allocation of capital to conserve what we have and to build climate resilience across the board in particular in adaptation finance for the most vulnerable areas and communities. Insurance and real estate valuations are at the frontline of climate shocks and hence the most innovative solutions can be seen in those sectors.

The Afternoon High Tea at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai is an experience. From the service to the ambiance, it is top notch. Ensconced in the lap of Indian Ocean History, the surroundings are something to note. The food is good, but the service is one to note.

Having the quintessential Dabeli in the buffet meal was local brought in to a global market. The Champagne was class, ideal temperature for a wet Mumbai afternoon.

A good space to unwind over some bubbly and food, thoroughly recommend it.

It is a pleasure to meet Taufiq Khan who started his environmental career with me after his masters, after two years! Always nice to listen to the voices of the next generation of sustainability talent, and he is an incredible intellect in the carbon and climate space. We celebrated our August birthdays together over hummus and kunafa in Mumbai at a prominent Arab eatery.

The future of sustainability in India is in good hands with folks such as Taufiq thinking science over fluff.

A treatise on state capacity. As a student of public policy informally since my teen years, and having lived in many countries- the power of state capacity is the key differentiator in delivering public goods to the poorest citizen. Failed states in South Asia, have created a tarmac for migrant workers to go overseas and in India, between states.

Sadly, avenues to work for the state in India are through the civil services and lateral entry for experts is scoffed as anti social justice. People like me who hold Indian Passports, and are not in the civil service, will find avenues to write and work on policy through think tanks, media and non profits whether they are structured pathways to contribute in the development journey.

Grateful for the generous souls who have stayed the choppy journey over the few years (you know who you are!). Calls from all over the world and a cake from halfway around the world from Berlin (thanks Hanna) made my day!

Happy to be alive and writing the stories that I always wanted to write from my quaint hometown of Muscat to the bustle of KL.

And thankful for the people who decided to leave. I wish them the very best.

The last year has been a Nusantara year from Mumbai to KL to Singapore to Jakarta with Penang, Seremban and Melaka in between. A historically rich region, I am learning about the region through a non Singaporean lens as I am a staunch Singapore-phile. I am also building a SE Asian Studies library and reading list in my home libraries in Mumbai and KL.

I am also writing a PhD thesis on Climate Finance in SE Asia from a leading Malaysian University building on 16 years of social sustainability consultancy experience. I gifted myself subscriptions of Jom and Mekong Review to learn more about the region which Indian citizens know little about beyond cursory tourist information. Walking the ground is one of favourite things to do, and I hope to write narratives which matter beyond the funding cycles and scholarship requirements.

I spent the day listening to podcasts, reading and tuning into the National Day Rally in Singapore. It’s a underrated joy to have a normal lunch at our club restaurant in Mumbai with parents who do so much for you.

I hope to focus on my health and focus on aspects which add value and bring joy to the communities of practice which we inhabit.

In Gratitude

Moni

There is a quiet shock with the data point that companies spend more money behind disclosures rather than innovation. To me it is hardly surprising as the entire climate zeitgeist is being operationalized through disclosure and data, through an ESG regulatory maze of alphabet soups which keeps expanding by the day, without anyone seriously asking, is there any outcome or impact towards climate action in the just transition which is the larger frame. Sustainability professionals are managing the green tape, or the new regulatory cholesterol of our era. 

Disclosures are building blocks and baseline data and can create the driver towards the transition. The focus on transitions is the classic case of missing the woods for the trees (natural capital, anyone?). 

ESG Disclosure Frameworks are conceptualized in Brussels, New York and London and the Global Middle/South merely follows, although India through the BRSR has done excellent work. This is the phase of a new carbon globalization and transition geopolitics; however, it should not import colonial tendencies in the name of global standards. 

Let us build our own standards, it is my call this Independence Day.