00: Navigating AI’s role in Asia’s Climate Action Strategy

The climate crisis has pushed parts of Asia past a tipping point, making urgent solutions critical. While tech solutions like AI-driven smart agriculture and energy management are emerging, there's little understanding of the extent of their adoption and impact. How will AI fare in contexts underscored by issues of digital divide, data challenges and financial gaps?

In episode zero of the Code Green podcast, we speak to leading experts on the intersection of AI and climate action in Asia from a policy, technology and finance lens. Our guests highlight the many opportunities for AI in climate adaptation, environmental costs and pathways needed to ensure climate justice in the long run.

Speakers

Elina Noor, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Elina's work focuses on developments in Southeast Asia, particularly the impact and implications of tech in reshaping power dynamics, governance and nation-building.

She's been the director of political-security affairs and deputy director of the Washington DC office at the Asia Society Policy Institute; and associate professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.

Elina has spent most of her career at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, last as director, foreign policy and security studies. She was also with the Brookings Institution’s Project on US Relations with the Islamic World, and currently serves on the UN Sec-Gen’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.

Alpan Raval, Chief Scientist AI/ML, Wadhwani AI

Alpan is a theoretical physicist, in the applied AI space for the last 24 years, applying ML to problems in computational biology and chemistry, queuing, computational advertising, online newsfeed optimisation and content moderation, public health, and agriculture.

Alpan has led applied AI teams at LinkedIn and Amazon, worked as a researcher at D E Shaw Research; and taught mathematics and computational biology at the Claremont Colleges in California. He is the co-author of Introduction to Biological Networks (CRC Press). 

Varad Pande, Partner, Boston Consulting Group

Varad is a leader in BCG’s Climate & Sustainability and Social Impact practices with a focus on emerging markets. He is part of BCG’s Asia leadership team for social impact, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. He has over 20 years of global experience as a senior ministerial advisor, an impact investor, and strategy consultant.

Varad’s work has spanned UN Sustainable Development Goal domains such as financial inclusion, agriculture and livelihoods; and he has helped shape the global discourse on the role of digital public infrastructure (DPI) in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs.

Varad was formerly a Partner at Omidyar Network India, and a partner and Asia Leader at Dalberg.

This podcast is accompanied by a monthly newsletter - sign up here⁠⁠.

Find the transcript here and visit codegreen.asia⁠⁠

Credits

Audio Editing: Sharon Joseph

Production Support: Shivranjana Rathore

Attributions

Intro, Outro - ⁠⁠Retro Sounds⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Alban_Gogh⁠⁠

Transitions - ⁠⁠Meditative Background Music⁠⁠,.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}