Critical Mass: Read All Our Stories Here
Discover changemakers, innovators and everyday heroes leading the way towards a
sustainable future. And gain inspiration for your own climate action journey.
Be the Change
Citizen champions of sustainability
Bangalore
Finding the Stories That Matter
I never knew a sector like this existed. Growing up in Bombay, surrounded by friends headed into business and corporate jobs, I studied commerce, then law, and was on track to become a financial lawyer. But during an internship, I worked on a case that stopped me cold: pesticide poisoning in Yavatmal in eastern Maharashtra. […]
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Kerala’s Fisher Communities are Defending the Ocean from Climate and Corporates
On the southwest coast of India, long before policymakers began speaking of “nature-based solutions” or “ocean literacy”, fishers in Kerala already knew where life thrived beneath the waves. They called these underwater ecosystems “paru” – reefs, rocky outcrops and seabed formations where fish aggregate, breed and take shelter. For generations, this knowledge guided when to […]
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Bangalore
Is This the World’s Unlikeliest Protein Source?
In India and around the world, methane is leaking into the atmosphere from rice paddies, cattle farms and decomposing waste, accelerating global warming. While carbon dioxide is the most talked-about greenhouse gas, methane is significantly more potent. To understand why, imagine greenhouse gases as blankets covering the Earth. Carbon dioxide adds many thin blankets, while […]
View detailsSolution Deep-Dives
In-depth explorations of climate solutions
A Circular Economy for…Cigarette Butts
Outside office complexes, tea stalls and restaurants across Indian cities, discarded cigarette butts are so common that they barely register as waste. A whopping 100 billion cigarette butts were trashed in 2021-22, amounting to 17,000 tonnes – equivalent in weight to 430 railway coaches or 4,000 elephants – according to a study submitted to the […]
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Hyderabad
Those Old Mobiles Lying in Your Bedside Drawer Could Make You Money. And Solve India’s E-Waste Crisis.
Most Indian households are sitting on a small pile of forgotten gadgets, each holding metals, energy and emissions that can either be wasted or recovered. What if clearing that clutter could also put some money back in your pocket? Today, it’s happening, thanks to a growing ecosystem of refurbishers, recyclers and doorstep collection services. Your […]
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Khaichum as an agro-ecological system: Indigenous knowledge and integrated farming in Ukhrul, Eastern Himalaya
Integrated agriculture–fishery systems represent long-standing agro-ecological practices that combine crop cultivation with aquatic resource management within a shared landscape. Such systems are widely documented across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. While regional variations exist, they are unified by the principle of optimising land and water use through ecological integration. These systems contribute to food and […]
View detailsEarthline
Stories from the frontlines of the planet
How are degraded coral reefs restored in India?
Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, are among the most productive and vibrant ecosystems on earth. Despite occupying less than 1% of the sea floor, they harbour over 25% of all marine species, including fish, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges and sea turtles. Reefs form over thousands of years as coral polyps, the […]
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Hormuz Crisis Splits India’s LPG Cylinder Market in Two
Two-and-a-half months into the Iran war, India’s LPG market is splitting into parallel economies. In parts of the country, gas cylinders are available as before. At the most, deliveries are taking longer than earlier but there isn’t much fear of a stockout. Elsewhere, LPG prices have soared so high that families are falling back on […]
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The Search for Climate Resilient Coffee in a Warming World
Blending coffee and music comes naturally to Carnatic musician and coffee roaster Akshay Vaidyanathan. In 2019, he founded Kapikottai, a coffee brand he describes as a fun entrepreneurial experiment. A year later, he launched a new specialty coffee roast using Excelsa coffee beans, a less popular species of coffee. While he introduced it as a […]
View detailsFuture Makers
Innovators in action
Dehradun
Meet the Chandrayaan-2 Scientist Solving the Water Crisis on Earth
In India’s vast but fragmented agricultural landscape, where livelihoods tilt with the monsoon winds, water is both lifeline and gamble. Riddhish Soni set out to change this through Aumsat Technologies, with tools forged for space exploration turned towards the Earth. Using radar, remote sensing and technologies that can detect resources under the surface of heavenly […]
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Net Positive
Meet the startups making climate action profitable
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Explainers
Breaking down complex climate topics simply
Bangalore and UAE
Sustainable Finance: A Primer
A recent study estimates that the global transition to net zero by 2050 will require $275 trillion in investment in physical assets – or $9.2 trillion annually. A big chunk of that money is expected to come from private financial institutions. Commercial banks alone may need to support $2.0-2.6 trillion annually. This shift is already […]
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Bangalore
India’s Recycling Economy Is Evolving Fast – But Can It Keep Up With Its Own Ambition?
For decades, recycling in India was seen as a back-end activity – fragmented, informal and largely invisible for the average Indian. Today, recycling sits at the heart of conversations around climate action, resource security and industrial growth. India’s waste streams are expanding not just in volume but in complexity. Alongside municipal solid waste, there is […]
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Bangalore
Wary of Greenwashing? Here’s What You Can Do
Greenwashing is arguably one of the most pernicious developments at a time when we need urgent climate action. Social media has a big role here, and from a demand perspective, greenwashing stories consistently sell. It concerns us all because greenwashing: Misleads your choices. You pay extra for “sustainable” without getting the real ecological benefits. Undermines […]
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