Climate Asia to host 4th annual conference in New Delhi

Highlighting grassroots leadership in climate action

Mitti ki Baatein is an invitation to re-centre development discourse around the margins we often ignore: Climate Asia

Environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) Climate Asia is set to host the fourth edition of its annual conference in New Delhi on April 22 with an aim to focus on local leadership in climate action.

In a press statement, Climate Asia says that the event, titled Mitti Ki Baatein (Stories from the Ground) will highlight community-driven adaptation efforts and frontline responses to climate change.

Satyam Vyas

“Mitti ki Baatein is an invitation to re-centre development discourse around the margins we often ignore, our soil, our smallholders, and our indigenous knowledge systems. In the midst of climate disruption and institutional fatigue, it urges us to listen to the lived wisdom of those closest to the land. The future of sustainability will not be engineered top-down; it will be cultivated from the ground up,” says Satyam Vyas, Founder, Climate Asia.

It adds that the conference will spotlight grassroots civil society organisations and individuals, including women and Indigenous leaders.

As per the press statement, the NGO says that the agenda will include sessions such as ‘Stories from the Ground’, ‘Roots of Resilience’, accompanied by a fireside chat titled Mitti Se Niti Tak, a gallery walk that will showcase visual narratives, and hold panel discussion on unequal impacts, unequal risks, which will address the gendered dimensions of climate challenges. The day will conclude with an Action Lab to explore collaborative solutions.

The NGO says that speakers like Padmini Chandragiri, Community Catalyst from Odisha’s Ganjam, Bitiya Murmu, Secretary of Lahanti, Gunjan Jain, Assistant Director at Climate Trends, Megha Jain, Senior Adviser to the Private Sector, Gates Foundation and Sudipto Dey, Editor of Sustainability, Outlook Business, who will also moderate a session will be featured during the event.

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According to the press statement, Climate Asia says that the event aligns with COP30 and India’s National Adaptation Plan, both of which emphasise the importance of locally-led solutions in enhancing community resilience. It notes that this year’s theme seeks to address the underrepresentation of vulnerable communities in climate discussions.

In the press statement the NGO says its annual conferences have become a space for advancing regional climate resilience. The 2022 event laid out key areas such as green jobs, grassroots innovation, and climate financing. In 2023, the focus expanded to intersectional issues, including gender and climate-health links.

As per the press statement, the environmental organisation says that the previous edition in Bengaluru drew over 400 sector participants and explored topics such as feminist climate leadership, mental health inclusion, and regenerative agriculture.