The inaugural Bangalore Climate Data Week (BLR-CDW) 2026 concluded today, bringing together stakeholders from the climate, data, and technology ecosystems across Bengaluru. Organised by Climate Collective Foundation (CCF), with Google as Anchor Partner and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), and Startup Karnataka as State Innovation Partners, the five-day convening featured 36 events between 12 and 16 October.
The Week brought together climate-tech founders, investors, researchers, policymakers, corporates, technology developers and ecosystem organisations to explore how data and artificial intelligence (AI) can help address climate challenges. The programme covered applications across industrial decarbonisation, climate resilience, energy, mobility, urban systems, and resource management, alongside discussions on the infrastructure, partnerships, and institutional support needed to apply these technologies at scale.
Pratap Raju, Founder, Climate Collective Foundation, said, “India has strong capabilities in climate technology, data and AI. The priority now is to bring these strengths together to deploy solutions that already exist and scale those that work. This requires better access to climate data, stronger collaboration between technology developers and the industries that can adopt their solutions, and closer coordination between startups, government, researchers, and investors. BLR-CDW has created a space for these ecosystems to work together to strengthen India’s leadership in climate innovation globally.”
AI for Climate Tech: From Lab to Land
The AI for Climate Tech Summit 2026, held on 13 October, examined how AI can contribute to climate action. The discussions also addressed the environmental costs of the infrastructure supporting AI’s growth, particularly its energy and water requirements.
Speakers explored applications across weather and flood forecasting, energy optimisation, freight electrification, resource efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. The discussions highlighted the need to assess AI applications through their practical value and measurable climate outcomes, while ensuring that the growth of digital infrastructure is managed responsibly.
Mr Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, shared, “Karnataka has the talent, technology ecosystem, and renewable energy capacity to help shape the next phase of climate innovation. The opportunity now is to turn these strengths into solutions that can be deployed at scale: a ‘UPI for Climate’ that makes climate data accessible to startups, digital twins that help cities prepare for floods and heat stress, and AI that helps farmers make better decisions. These are ambitious ideas, but they are within reach if government, industry, academia, and startups work together. The outcomes of this convening should be a starting point for building these solutions together. UPI once seemed impossible too. We should bring the same ambition to climate action.”
Roli Agarwal, Global Partnerships Lead – Geo Sustainability at Google, highlighted how Artificial Intelligence is acting as a powerful multiplier for climate action and community resilience in India. She emphasised that AI’s greatest value lies in translating complex environmental data into practical, on-the-ground solutions, from accelerating rooftop solar adoption across 300 million Indian rooftops via Google’s Solar API, to providing life-saving flood forecasts and equipping smallholder farmers with precision agriculture models. Underscoring Google’s commitment to the local climate-tech ecosystem, she noted that while AI provides the tools, lasting climate transformation requires deep, collective collaboration between innovators, policymakers, and communities.
Climate Collective Foundation, with support from SecondMuse hosted a masterclass to equip investors and ecosystem organisations with practical approaches to measuring, tracking, and communicating circular economy impact. Jui Joshi, Founding Team, Climate Collective Foundation, emphasised the importance of credible impact measurement in mobilising capital for climate solutions, saying, “We need to support the climate-tech transition with reliable impact measurement and reporting to channel the right impact finance.”
Climate Data for Better Decisions
The use of reliable, locally relevant data was a key theme across the Week. On 12 October, CSTEP showcased its work on climate resilience and sustainable development, including the launch of the BHRIGU–National + Heat Insights Explorer to strengthen urban heat resilience. The session also featured demonstrations of its Namma SAFARI and DISHA platforms, which explore pathways towards a carbon-neutral and sustainable Karnataka.
WRI India also launched Data Lab Connect during the Week. The initiative is designed to help organisations use data and analytical approaches to address challenges in Bengaluru, including urban heat stress, infrastructure gaps, and changing water trends. The launch reflected the need to make climate data more accessible and useful to the organisations responsible for planning and implementing solutions. As cities face growing climate risks, the availability of relevant data and the ability to apply it to local decisions will remain important to effective climate action.
Women in Climate: Supporting Founders and Strengthening Networks
Climate Drinks for Women in Data and Climate, hosted by Climate Collective Foundation under its Women in Climate Entrepreneurship initiative, in partnership with Omnivore, brought together women leaders and allies from the climate-tech and agri-food innovation ecosystems working at the intersection of data and climate.
She Wins Climate – South Asia: Startup Showcase 2026 marked the culmination of the nine-month, equity-free She Wins Climate South Asia Accelerator, supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Government of Canada and the Government of Australia, and implemented by MicroSave Consulting (MSC) and Climate Collective Foundation (CCF). The programme supported 26 women-led climate-tech startups across regions spanning sectors including renewable energy, circular economy, climate adaptation, food and agriculture, mobility, urban infrastructure, industrial decarbonisation and carbon solutions.
Industrial Decarbonisation: Building the Conditions for Adoption
The Industry Net Zero Innovation Summit 2026: AI Edition, held on 14 October, highlighted how AI can help industries improve operational efficiency, reduce emissions, and advance their net-zero goals.
The summit, featuring a debate on AI as an accelerator of industrial decarbonisation, examined both the opportunities and limitations of the technology. While speakers discussed its potential to improve emissions management and support industrial processes, they also highlighted concerns around the evidence of impact, resource requirements, and the need to address the physical challenges of sectors such as cement and steel.
Nalin Agarwal, Co-founder, Climate Collective Foundation, said, “AI can help industries identify inefficiencies, improve energy use, and make better decisions on emissions. Its contribution to decarbonisation will depend on access to reliable operational data, clear business cases and collaboration between technology providers and the industries expected to use these solutions. If these conditions are in place, AI can become a practical part of industrial decarbonisation, helping promising technologies deliver measurable results in day-to-day operations.”
The discussions throughout the summit highlighted that the adoption of AI in industry will depend on more than technical capability. Businesses need solutions that can demonstrate operational value, work with existing systems, and deliver results under real-world conditions.
AI for Climate Resilience: Connecting Data with Action
The AI for Resilience Tech Summit, co-hosted by Google and Climate Collective Foundation on 15 October, examined how AI can help decision-makers assess physical climate risks and plan for them. Discussions covered the use of climate intelligence in urban planning, infrastructure, agriculture, and insurance. The programme also included live demonstrations by the top teams from the Google India Sustainability Hackathon.
A separate roundtable, Models to Masses: Taking AI for Climate Resilience from Pilots to Practice, hosted by CEEW, Google, and Climate Collective Foundation, focused on what it takes to deploy AI-based climate solutions at scale. Participants discussed the need for reliable climate data, standardised approaches and coordination between the organisations developing solutions and those responsible for using them.
The discussions brought attention to a practical requirement for climate resilience. AI models need reliable data and a place in the systems that inform everyday decisions. Wider adoption will depend on how well these tools respond to local risks and the needs of the institutions using them.
Building a Workforce for the Climate Economy
The Climate Jobs Fair, led by the Climate Jobs Board, an initiative of the Climate Collective Foundation, as part of Bangalore Climate Data Week 2026, was held at Atria University.
The fair, inaugurated by Dr. Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, Vice-Chancellor of Atria University, provided a platform for over 200 aspiring professionals to engage directly with climate tech startups. He shared, “Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing the world today, and addressing it requires innovative, practical and sustainable solutions. While technology plays a transformative role in addressing climate change, skilled and committed people are essential for translating innovation into impact. I congratulate all those choosing to build their careers in the climate space.”
Strengthening Collaboration Across the Ecosystem
Bangalore Climate Data Week 2026, which was held over a period of five days, raised an important point regarding climate technologies: developing them is only part of the work. Creation of successful solutions needs reliable data, cooperation of business partners, institutional support, adequate financing and human resources.
As India continues to build its AI and climate-tech capabilities, connecting these ecosystems can help ensure that technological progress contributes to practical climate outcomes. The Week provided a platform for these conversations to begin and for partnerships to develop across sectors.