On the occasion of 55th anniversary of Earth Day, a new global alliance—the Netzero Energy Transition Alliance (NETRA)—has been launched at the International virtual conference “Our Power – Our Planet” on April 22, 2025. Organized in collaboration with EARTHDAY.ORG, the event brings together over 300+ global thought leaders, policymakers, innovators, and investors to deliberate on practical solutions for accelerating the net-zero energy transition in the decade ahead.
“For many of us who’ve been working on clean energy for over two decades, this is a pivotal moment,” said Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, Founding President of NETRA. “Through NETRA, we are creating a platform that connects the dots between innovation, investment, and implementation—because the future will not wait for us to catch up.”
The newly formed alliance will work on 6 key pillars Such as (1) Policy Advocacy and Regulatory Support, (2) Industry-led R&D and Innovation Collaborations, (3) Market Development and Commercialization: (4) Capacity Building and Skill Development (5) Knowledge Sharing and Networking (6) Access to Capital and Partnerships
The event was opened by the keynote addresses by Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG, and Ashish Khanna, Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). “We’ve always believed Earth Day is a catalyst—not just a celebration,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG. “We are proud to partner with NETRA to amplify the voice of solutions—solutions that are scalable, inclusive, and urgent.”
Ashish Khanna, Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) congratulated the officials of Net Zero Energy Transition Alliance (NETRA) and mentioned that this is the need of hour. He also mentioned that the new alliance should focus on new and emerging energy technologies and its quick implementation in green energy sector and sustainable mobility space. Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO, ANRF, Govt of India (India) emphasized on the need of inter-ministerial and global collaboration on innovation, tech transfer, technology pilot and R&D in the renewable and Electric vehicle space. Shri Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson, CEA shared the government of India’s plan on renewable Energy capacity addition and the roadmap for energy storage for India. Padmashri Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala highlighted the issues of climate and mitigation strategies from various stakeholders’ point of view form community, to research institutions, government, start-ups and large conglomerates. Prof Jhunjhunwala as part of the advisory Board of NETRA invited industry players to enhance the collaborative effort to accelerate the energy transition journey.
Erik Solheim, Global Leader on environment and Climate, Former UN diplomat, Norwegian Politician (Norway) mentioned about the success story of Norway in multiple space including electric mobility, energy storage, green hydrogen and also mentioned there is a huge opportunity for bilateral partnership between the countries and learning from each other is the best way to grow faster. Frank Wouters, Chair, Advisory Board, DII Desert Energy & MENA Hydrogen Alliance (UAE) mentioned that multiple global efforts are happening at various level and such platform like NETRA should work as the umbrella organization to implement various initiates and programs in emerging countries. Tim Buckley, Director, Climate Energy Finance mentioned the need of investment in energy tech start-ups and key challenges in the financing in energy transition projects. He also mentioned NETRA should facilitate tech due-diligence, investment facilitation, project financing.
In this occasion, Organizations like LDES Council, Norway India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI), GH2 India (Green Hydrogen Organization), Australian Microgrid Center of Excellence (AMCoE), UL Research Institute (ULRI) and PIXII, Europe’s 3rd fasted growing energy tech company signed MoU with NETRA and also joined as key Partner and member.
The virtual conference was focused on various topics including Net-Zero Tech Revolution – Aligning global R&D, supply chains, and skills, Decarbonizing the Electric Grid, Sustainable Mobility and Industrial Decarbonization.
NETRA will focus on various energy transition areas including Renewable Energy (Solar and Wind), Bio fuels & Biomass Energy, Hydro & Nuclear Energy, Sustainable transportation including xEVs, UAVs, Industrial & Commercial Sectors (Such as Cement, Steel, Plastics, Petroleum, Data Center), Green Buildings, R&D and Innovation, Batteries & Energy Storage, Carbon Capture, Utilisation & storage, Grid Operation & Utilities, Financing & Investment, Microgrids & Rural Electrification and Raw Materials & Supply chain & circular economy
NETRA will continue to engage with global organizations and industry leaders periodically to develop first 12-month action plan—building alignment across regions and sectors to overcome key deployment barriers and fast-track commercialization of clean technologies. NETRA will also unveil details of strategic collaborations underway.