US economist Jeffrey D. Sachs has said that large-scale clean energy investments, particularly by companies such as Adani Green Energy, are more consequential than many people realise, arguing that early movers in the sector gain significant cost, learning, and global leadership advantages. Speaking at the Resilient Futures Summit on Energy organised by The Economist in New Delhi, Sachs highlighted that the scale of clean energy deployment will play a decisive role in determining which countries and companies emerge as global leaders in the energy transition. He said India’s push toward renewable energy capacity expansion reflects a forward-looking strategy with long-term economic implications.

“What Adani Green pushes is extraordinarily important for this country, very smart. It is looking to the future, and it is operating at a major scale, so it is a very positive development,” Sachs said during his address. He added that large-scale deployment of clean technologies helps reduce costs over time while also building technical and industrial capabilities. According to him, countries that invest early and at scale are more likely to establish global leadership in the sector.

Sachs also expressed concern over the slow global progress in addressing climate change. He noted that despite decades of discussions around decarbonisation, concrete and coordinated global action has remained limited. “We’ve talked about decarbonisation for 30 years… and still haven’t done it,” he said, warning that the world is already moving beyond critical temperature thresholds without a clear implementation roadmap.

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Highlighting a contrast between policy delays and private sector action, Sachs said that firms investing early in clean energy infrastructure are likely to gain long-term advantages. “The ones who act now will win. The rest are just talking,” he said, stressing that scale and execution, rather than intent alone, will determine future leadership in the global energy transition.

In a separate address at a FICCI-organised event, Sachs also commented on broader geopolitical developments, warning about rising global tensions, particularly in the Middle East. He said understanding how conflicts begin is essential to resolving them and criticised what he described as “deinstitutionalised” decision-making in US foreign policy. He further described India as a key pillar of global stability, advocating for its continued strategic autonomy and balanced international relations.

Sachs also referred to India’s long-standing Non-Aligned Movement tradition, calling it “a very good idea,” and suggested that India should maintain constructive relations with all major powers while avoiding alignment in rival geopolitical blocs. He added that India’s growing global role could also support its case for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council.

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