From Commitment to Credible Transition: A Research-to-Practice Collaboration on Transition Planning and Transition Finance

As global climate discourse shifts decisively from target-setting to tangible execution, closing the gap between ambitious corporate pledges and on-the-ground capital allocation has emerged as a central challenge. At COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) through its TERI ESG Academy and the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group (University of Oxford) will make a joint high-level announcement establishing a strategic research-to-practice collaboration focused on credible transition planning and transition finance.

This institutional collaboration bridges TERI’s extensive India-focused policy, industry, and sectoral implementation expertise with Oxford’s cutting-edge global research and international capacity-building frameworks. Together, the institutions aim to provide actionable pathways, robust methodologies, and institutional support for organizations navigating the complexities of decarbonization—particularly within transition-intensive sectors and emerging markets.

Background & Focus Areas

Achieving real-economy decarbonization requires transition plans that are scientifically sound, commercially viable, and backed by accessible capital. While financial institutions and corporations have increasingly made net-zero commitments, translating these goals into credible operational roadmaps remains difficult due to evolving regulatory standards, data deficits, and risk-pricing mismatches.

This collaboration will address these systemic friction points by examining:

• The Commitment-to-Implementation Gap: Evaluating the practical barriers organizations face when moving from high-level net-zero pledges to measurable, real-economy decarbonization pathways.
• Financing Conditions for Credible Transitions: Identifying the risk-sharing instruments, concessional facilities, and market mechanisms needed to deploy private and institutional capital toward transition-intensive industries.
• Sector-Specific Needs & Realities: Developing targeted frameworks adapted to the distinct operational realities of emerging economies and capital-intensive sectors.
• Joint Stakeholder Engagements: Launching an inaugural research-to-practice webinar to engage key voices across industry, banking, and governance, informing future collaborative research, policy advisories, and executive capacity-building programs.

Program & Speakers

The event will feature a concise high-level announcement and framing discussion outlining the core objectives of the partnership and detailing the forthcoming joint stakeholder webinar series.

High-Level Institutional Representatives

• Dr Dipankar Saharia – Executive Director, TERI
• Dr Amit Kumar – Director, TERI

Session Co-Facilitator:

Kalyani Inampudi – Fellow / Lead, TERI ESG Academy

Key Takeaways & Next Steps

Following this COP31 announcement:

• A formal joint statement and partnership roadmap will be published across TERI and Oxford Sustainable Finance Group platforms.
• Registrations will open for the upcoming Joint Stakeholder Webinar, convening policymakers, corporate leaders, and institutional financiers to shape actionable research and training agendas for 2027 and beyond.