02
02
Mahua Acharya on The MONEY Behind Climate: CARBON Market and India 2047 | VISION 02 Priyadarshi
Mahua Acharya on The MONEY Behind Climate: CARBON Market and India 2047 | VISION 02 Priyadarshi
Aug 27, 2025
1 hr 24 min
Not the e-bus episode. Mahua Acharya on carbon markets & climate finance for India 2047. We cover Carbon Markets 101, who sets carbon credit prices, quality & the ‘Carbon Passport’, UPI/DPI & Green Wallets, EU CBAM, MSMEs, and Mahua’s Blueprint to India 2047. Watt’s the Vision brings you another India’s Visionary, Mahua Acharya which India knows for changing the cost curve on electric buses—but this visionary conversation cracks open the money & markets behind climate. What you’ll learn (fast) • Carbon Markets 101: what a carbon credit is, why markets exist • Price discovery: Buyer vs seller vs exchange (and why bilateral deals stay confidential) • Quality: good vs bad credits, the case for a “Carbon Passport” • Policy: CCTS 2024, Green Credit Rules 2023, Article 6 • Trade: EU CBAM—threat or launchpad for Indian industry? • Rails: UPI/ONDC for carbon, Green points → tax • Roadmap: milestones to 2030, vision for India 2047 ------------------ Who should watch Sustainability & ESG pros, policy folks, founders/operators in energy/fintech, product managers working on DPI/UPI, infra investors, MSME owners curious about carbon finance, and students breaking into climate. ------------------------ About the Visionary Mahua Acharya is a pioneering voice in carbon markets and climate finance, with 20+ years across the World Bank, GGGI, Indian government and private sector. A Yale graduate, she began on the World Bank’s carbon-finance desk shaping early market methodologies and fund structures. At GGGI (Seoul) she built the investment arm, mobilizing ~US$500M for green infrastructure in 16 countries. In India, she hard-wired finance into programs like Gram Ujala (carbon-credit-financed LEDs) and, as MD & CEO of CESL, led a cost-shifting electric-bus program. She co-founded IIM Ahmedabad’s Sustainable Finance program, serves on global boards, and is recognized among women in leadership. Today she’s Founder-CEO of INTENT, scaling finance-first solutions for India’s energy transition. ------------------------ About the Host and Creator: Priyadarshi A seasoned clean-mobility strategist and storyteller, Priyadarshi has spent 14 years turning big climate goals into on-the-ground wins. He helped draft Delhi’s groundbreaking EV Policy, scaled bus electrification in Delhi and advises ministries on net-zero roadmaps for vehicles.
Not the e-bus episode. Mahua Acharya on carbon markets & climate finance for India 2047. We cover Carbon Markets 101, who sets carbon credit prices, quality & the ‘Carbon Passport’, UPI/DPI & Green Wallets, EU CBAM, MSMEs, and Mahua’s Blueprint to India 2047. Watt’s the Vision brings you another India’s Visionary, Mahua Acharya which India knows for changing the cost curve on electric buses—but this visionary conversation cracks open the money & markets behind climate. What you’ll learn (fast) • Carbon Markets 101: what a carbon credit is, why markets exist • Price discovery: Buyer vs seller vs exchange (and why bilateral deals stay confidential) • Quality: good vs bad credits, the case for a “Carbon Passport” • Policy: CCTS 2024, Green Credit Rules 2023, Article 6 • Trade: EU CBAM—threat or launchpad for Indian industry? • Rails: UPI/ONDC for carbon, Green points → tax • Roadmap: milestones to 2030, vision for India 2047 ------------------ Who should watch Sustainability & ESG pros, policy folks, founders/operators in energy/fintech, product managers working on DPI/UPI, infra investors, MSME owners curious about carbon finance, and students breaking into climate. ------------------------ About the Visionary Mahua Acharya is a pioneering voice in carbon markets and climate finance, with 20+ years across the World Bank, GGGI, Indian government and private sector. A Yale graduate, she began on the World Bank’s carbon-finance desk shaping early market methodologies and fund structures. At GGGI (Seoul) she built the investment arm, mobilizing ~US$500M for green infrastructure in 16 countries. In India, she hard-wired finance into programs like Gram Ujala (carbon-credit-financed LEDs) and, as MD & CEO of CESL, led a cost-shifting electric-bus program. She co-founded IIM Ahmedabad’s Sustainable Finance program, serves on global boards, and is recognized among women in leadership. Today she’s Founder-CEO of INTENT, scaling finance-first solutions for India’s energy transition. ------------------------ About the Host and Creator: Priyadarshi A seasoned clean-mobility strategist and storyteller, Priyadarshi has spent 14 years turning big climate goals into on-the-ground wins. He helped draft Delhi’s groundbreaking EV Policy, scaled bus electrification in Delhi and advises ministries on net-zero roadmaps for vehicles.
Guests:
Guests:
Mahua Acharya
Episode Summary
Episode Summary
⚡ Imagine it’s 2047: you step outside and breathe clean air while the lane beside your house is car-free. Old petrol clunkers sit in museums and every 1 km of road has been redesigned for people first, and “range anxiety” is just a Bollywood punch-line..
In today’s episode of Watt’s the Vision, Priyadarshi is in conversation with Amit Bhatt, Managing Director of ICCT, India. He is India’s top clean-transport strategist and voice. He has over 20 years of experience in transportation, urban development, and management. Before joining ICCT, Amit was Executive Director for Integrated Transport at WRI India for 12 years.
In this video, he discusses his vision of 2047 and what are the ways that needs to be stitched to reach there.