climate & livelihoods

India faces some of the most severe impacts of climate change. Extreme heat, erratic monsoons, and shifting seasons are no longer environmental signals. They are economic shocks.

climate risk is already reshaping livelihoods

workforce exposed to heat risk
0 %
districts facing high heat risk
0 %

climate impacts concentrated in key sectors

Affecting over 300M people

agriculture & crops

55% of the workforce

livestock & dairy

70% of rural households

fisheries

28M dependent

forestry

350M dependents

Heat stress alone results in a loss of 1.8M tonnes of milk annually, valued at approximately ₹2661 crore.

Beyond natural resource sectors, waste systems are a growing climate and livelihoods challenge.

the waste challenge

India's waste systems are under pressure

62M

Tonnes municipal waste

350-400M

Tonnes industrial waste

<45%

Scientifically processed

the opportunity

Circular economy → green jobs

50%

Waste workforce formalisation

5-7M

Jobs by 2040

where markets can play a role

food systems

Map climate impacts across food value chains, identify bottlenecks to productivity and resilience, and explore market opportunities for scalable environmental and economic outcomes.

waste systems

Map the impact of waste on livelihoods and the environment, identify bottlenecks in collection, processing, and circularity, and explore market opportunities for green jobs and sustainable economic value.

our research focus

Objective is to identify where innovation backed by the right incentives can unlock resilient, scalable livelihood pathways.

explore other research areas

msme

The objective is not to simply increase enterprise numbers, but to redesign the enabling conditions around them.

women

Understanding where pathways break and what systems can enable women to enter, remain, and grow in work.